Child of the Fell and Divine dragons
by MidnightFenrir
Summary: Following the events of Awakening, Robin disappears after he killed Grima and ends up in the Past Elibe. But it seems that fate tends to repeat itself as he has amnesia once again. Sort of a crossover between Awakening and Rekka no Ken. Main pairings feature RobinXLyn, EliwoodXNinian and HectorXFlorina. Rated T for language. Rating might change to M for some chapters. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people, this is MidnightFenrir speaking and i'd like to thank you for reading my first fanfiction : Child of the Fell and Divine dragons. The story is a sort of crossover between Fire Emblem : Rekka no Ken and Awakening, as you have seen in the summary, where Naga sends Robin in the past after he kills Grima. I will probably change a few things as the story goes on and maybe introduce some Ocs and other characters from Awakening. Pairing features Eliwood X Ninian, Hector X Florina and Lyn X Robin with some Lucina X Robin (you'll see why as the story progress). Well, i have only one thing left to say: enjoy!**

**Robins' appearance is build: 1, face: 4, hair style: 1, hair color: 1 (white), voice: 1, eye color: red (as it should be for any albinos). Yeah, (almost) the basic appearance. What do you mean i'm not original?**

**Oh, and I do not own Fire Emblem and their characters.**

Robin's POV

I awaken to the sound of rumbling somewhere around me and my eyes open slowly. What greets me is the sight of an unfamiliar roof made of wool. I groan at the headache that suddenly manifest itself as I try to recall where I am and what happened. But my mind is blank and I can't seem to remember anything. Is this what people call amnesia?

But before I can even try to answer my own questions, a voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Are you awake?"

I turn my gaze to my left to find a woman holding a bowl of water by my side with a smile on her face and relief in her eyes.

"I found you uncouscious on the plains. I thought there might have been a problem but you seem just fine." She jiggles. "There are better places to take a nap than on the ground you know?"

Weird, I think for a moment. I just had a strange impression of déjà vu... Did I heard those words before?

"I am Lyn, of the Lorca tribe. Who are you? You seem a bit lost. Do you remember your name?"

My name? A familiar word rings in my mind. I guess I still remember some things.

"I am Robin. Thanks for helping me." I reply.

"Robin? What an odd-sounding name..." I frown at the comment. Again, I feel like I already heard that before. "But pay me no mind. It's a good name" she says, shaking her head with a smile.

Without a word, I sit up on the bed, taking a good look at my caretaker. I can tell she's young, around twenty maybe, with long green hair tied in a ponytail in her back and blue eyes. I can see she wears traditional nomad clothes, confirming her earlier statement, but I don't see or hear anybody else around us. Where is the rest of her tribe?

"I can see by your attire that you are a traveler. What brings you to the Sacae plains?" she asks me out of curiosity.

The Sacae plains? So that's where I am? Another thing I can't remember, it seems. In fact, I can't seem to even remember the name of the country i'm in. As for why i'm here, this is also a complete mystery to me. Ugh... What a pain... Why did this have to happen to me?

"Would you share you story with me?"

Before I can answer, however, we both hear a crashing sound nearby.

"Hm? What was that noise?" says Lyn, turning to the opening of the tent. "I'll go see what's happening. Robin, wait here." She goes outside and I can hear her footsteps on the grass. With a groan, I swing my legs out of the bed and get up, looking around the hut. In a few seconds, I spot a dark robe laying on a chair beside a belt with severals pouchs and a bag. I can guess, with the odd sense of familiarity and the contrast with the local belongings, that it belongs to me and put it on before straping the belt on my wraist. Opening the bag, I find a sword along severals strange books inside. It seems I were -am- quite a reader. But I can sense something different coming from some of the books, as if there were as trange energy raging inside them.

I shake my head. What is wrong with me? Energy coming from a book? As if it could be possible.

Hearing footsteps again, I turn my head to see Lyn runing back inside the hut with a look of panic on her face.

"Oh no! Bandits! They must have come down from the Biran Mountains!" she exclaims

Biran? I repeat the strange word in my head. Where is that? Wait a second. Bandits?!

"They must be planning to raid the local villages. I... I have to stop them!"

I can see fear, but also courage and detremination in her eyes. It reminds me of someone. Someone I knew before, but can't remember now. Again, it feels weird to know that you have experienced something before, but you can't put your finger on it.

"If that's all of them, I think I can handle them on my own." She rushes past me to a shelf and take a sword out of it before straping it to her wraist. "Robin, stay here. You'll be safe" she says, turning to me.

I shake my head. "As if i'm going to let my caretaker risk her life without repaying her for helping me. I'm coming with you."

Lyn looks at me with wide eyes. "What? You want to help?"

I nod. "Is it really weird for me to repay your kindness?"

" No, but... Well, can you use a weapon?"

I take my own sword out of my bag. "I guess I can, even if I have no memory of using one before. Beside, what sort of man would I be to let a lady protect me when it should be the opposite?"

She smiles at me. "Very well. We'll go together!" She says before dashng out of the hut, with me close behind.

What is it they say in those kind of situations? 'Think before you leap ' I think it was? Or was it 'leap before you think'?

Once outside, I quickly study our surroundings. Nothing but grass fields, exept for a few random trees. I guess the Sacae plains live up to their name. Following Lyn as she jogges to a small village composed of a few huts, I soon see the bandits that are rampaging around the camp, going after the fleeing villagers. There are four of them, all wielding axes that look so dull because of the blood stains on them that I doubt they could even cut a log properly with those.

But they could still kill.

I tense a bit and gripp my sword firmly as Lyn unsheath her own.

"Any advice?" She asks without looking at me.

"Stay sharp and don't die, I guess. They aren't any thing we can use to hide ourselves so once we engage them, it will be hard to do anyhting but stand our ground and fight. But I don't think they are expecting any resistance so the element of surprise should be on our side. Beside, our swords have the advantage against their axes. Also, they are quite overconfident because of their numbers."

I frown. Where did that come from? I wonder how I can know all of this while I don't remember anything about myself.

Lyn lookes at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, that's more than I expected. Could you also be a strategist by trade?"

"Maybe. I don't remember." I reply.

She nods. "Let's go!" she exclaims before running through the village. Soon, we see two bandits cornering a woman with her back to a fence. I can see the arm of one them bringing the axe up in a slow motion while the women shakes in fear at what is going to happen to her.

Scum. Enjoying killing innocent people and taking pleasure in watching the fear in their eyes as they bring down the axe. The worst.

"Stop!" I yell while jumping on the man whose smile turns into an expression of shock as he sees the sword coming at him. I slash at him and cut through the fabric of his clothes, leaving a long gash on his torso. He takes a step back, not believing what just happened and I position myself between him and the woman. His look of surprise turns into pure rage and he charges at me with a cry. He brings his axe down but I saw it coming. Those guys are all muscles and no brain, as I guessed. So the best thing they can do is trying to mall you down with pure strengh. I dodge the first, vertical, strike as I prepare for the second, horizontal this time, strike. This time, I quicly knock up his arm up with a swift strike of my own before plunging my blade deep into his chest. He looks even more surprised now, as if he cannot believe that I killed him. I take a step back, releasing my sword, and blood flows out of the fatal wound I gave him. I watch him as he falls to the groud, dead, and I swing my sword to get rid of the blood on it.

"And good riddance!" I say as I turn to look behind me. The woman is still on the ground and looks at me with wide eyes as I kneel in front of her.

"Are you alright?" I ask while looking for any injury she might have gotten. She nods and I stand up, taking her with me. "Go. We will take care of the rest of them. If you stay here, you'll be in danger."

She nods once again and start running down the path we came. I smile at the fact that I managed to save someone.

Suddenly, the sound of fighting brings me back to reality. My head snaps in the direction of the noise and I see Lyn engaged in a fierce fight with one of the bandits, the corpse of another one lying a few feets beside her in a pool of blood that obviously came from his sliced open throat. I sprint toward them with a shout and stabs her opponent's shoulder. He roars at the sudden pain and turns his gaze to me. Bad mistake. It was all Lyn needed to swing her sword in one fluid motion and make his head fall to the ground, his body following a few seconds later.

We take a few seconds to catch our breath before Lyn brings her sword toward the sky.

"Victory!" she shouts and I smile at her enthusiasm before frowning as I see a gash on her left shoulder.

"You've been injured." I state as I approach her to look at the wound. It's not deep but it's still a serious injury that could cost her life if not treated.

She looks at her shoulder. "Oh yes, I forgot about this. It's weird, but I can't seem to feel pain right now."

"It's the rush of adrenaline. It temporaly blocks your sense of pain but the backslash will leave you exhausted and in pain after it's over."

Again, I frown. Where did I get all this knowledge? This is really weird. But what's weirder is the fact that while this felt like my first battle, at the same time it didn't. I shake my head. That doesn't matter right now. We still have a job to finish.

"We must treat it before going after the last bandit" I say to her.

"Indeed. I have need of a vulnerary." she pulls out a small bottle from her belt and opens it before drink it's content to the last drop. As I see the wound closing before my eyes, I can't help but wonder at how effective such a medecine can be. But that will be for later.

As we make our way across the village, we see the last bandit running at us with a sack full of gold. He stops as he sees us and drops the sack on the ground.

"Who the hell are you? What have you done to my boys?!"

I step forward. "Your 'boys' are dead. And I suggest that you drop your weapon immediately and leave this place if you want to keep your life." But I can see that my words have no effects on him as he readies his axe. Oh well, it was worth a shot, I think with a sigh.

"Who do you think you are?! You think you can stand up to Batta the Beast?!" he shouts.

I ready my sword but Lyn steps with an arm in front of me.

"Don't, Robin. He's mine." she says as she steps toward him.

And before I can say anything, the battle begins bewteen the plain swordswoman and the mountain bandit. While he relies, as his comrades, on pure strengh to take his opponent down, I can see that Lyn favors quick strikes and precision to strengh. There is grace in her movements. It's almost as if she was playing a deadly dance with her opponent. Once again, a strange feeling of familiarity awokens inside me as I watch her. I remember watching someone in the same way and feeling the same about this person as I feel about her. But who is it? Damn this amnesia of mine!

As the battle rages on, I can see that Lyn begins to fall back, little by little. As I feared, she's too exhausted after fighting the two other bandits and the injury she sustained earlier must be taken it's toll on her, even after beeing healed. The longer this fights gets, the harder it will be for her to match her opponent. I can see that Batta has multiple gashes over his body but none of them are deep enough to be decisive. Then, I let out a cry as I see his axe leaving a wound across her right side.

"Lyn!"

She backs away with a jump and catches her breath.

"Whew! He's tough... It all comes to the next blow." She turns to me. "Robin, if I fall, I want you to flee. Do not be stupid and try to avenge me. You must escape!"

Again, without leaving me the time to reply, she steps toward and drops into a stance. Leaning on one leg with the other forward, her sword paralel to the ground at her shoulder and pointed toward her ennemy, the tip of the blade resting on the hand of her stretched left arm. She closes her eyes and I hold my breath as I watch Batta charging at her with a war cry.

It all happened in an instant.

Lyn suddenly oppened her eyes and became a blur of blue and green charging at high speed to meet her opponent. I only saw a flash as her sword striked twice and true across Batta's chest, leaving two deep gashes that made his blood flow out of his body like water out of a fountain. I guess he didn't even see what striked him.

"What? How... How did you-" He never got to finish his last sentence as a third strike of Lyn's sword beheaded him.

Wordlessly, I watch Lyn clean her sword in the grass before putting it back to it's sheath. With a sigh, she turns to me.

"That was close... I sorely underestimated him. Sorry if I worried you." she says with an exhausted and apologetic look on her face.

"'Worried' is an understatement, Lyn." I reply with an icy tone while coming closer. "You almost scared me to death when you closed you eyes. What were you thinking?! Fighting him alone was bad enough, but you just HAD to fight him while you were exhausted and with a not fully treated injury! Do you realize you almost DIED?!"

I stare as she drops her head in shame. I let out a deep sigh. Although I didn't fight as much as she did, i'm also exhausted. I guess my nerves had enough for one day.

"I'm sorry. I'm tired too. I won't say anything else since you are the one who is standing right now but... Please. For your sake. Don't, ever, do that again. Now let's go home and treat this injury."

She looks up and give me a tired smile as I gesture her to come and lean on my shoulder to help her walk. Once we're out of the village, I tell the village mayor that the threat has been eliminated and that they can come back now. After severals 'thank you' and 'we're grateful for your help', he asks me "What of the corpses?"

"Burn them." I answer. "I think it's the best you can do. For both them and your village."

He nods before leaving and we begin our trip back to Lyn's hut. When we're finally inside, I lay her down on the bed and examine her injury. Because the axe was dull, the wound is worst than what a sharp axe would have done but it's not as deep. Trying not to blush as I tend to her, I clean up the wound and give her a vulnerary once i'm done. She nods her thanks and gulp it down slowly. Having to deal with two serious injuries on her first battle must be quite a shock and she soon falls asleep after I finished examining her left shoulder. Having nothing else to do and not wanting to sleep yet, I draw out our swords to clean them up. I'm pretty sure no one wants their blade to smell of blood. Hearing Lyn mumbling something, I turn my head to the bed and come closer.

"Have to... Become stronger... Stronger... Than anyone... To survive..." she murmurs in her sleep.

I smile and shake my head. This girl... seriously...

With a sigh, I lay down on the groun, tired and in need of sleep. It's strange, seeing that I slept for more than half a day before this. I guess i'm not in top form yet. I yawn before wrapping myself in my robe and I close my eyes. My last thought before drifting into the darkness is 'What will happen now? As I have no memory of myself or what I was doing, what should I do?'

-Scene change-

"_...WHAT... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"_

…

"_...YOU WOULD... NOT DARE!"_

…

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

*****Scene change*****

Robin's POV

I shoot my eyes open suddenly. My breathing is heavy, rash even, and unsteady. I can feel that i'm drenched in cold sweet but that doesn't matter one bit. Slowly, I sit up on the ground and look outside.

It's still night. I guess I only slept a few hours. But sleeping didn't allow me to rest.

No.

It tourmented me with endless questions without answers. And now... This.

I shiver at the thought of this voice. It seemed as if it came from the depths of hell itself. But it also seemed familiar... although not in a good way.

I sigh. There's no way i'm getting back to sleep now. Not with this still very vivid dream in my mind. I get up and step outside, the cold air of the night greeting me. I look up at the sky. It seems the wind of the plains has been doing it's job well because as far as I can see, there is no cloud obstruing the stars or the moon. As I gaze upon them, I can't help but think that it's strange. I don't know why but the sky seems... unfamiliar. Like there's something wrong with it. Okay amnesia, you are defenitely my top one thing I hate.

I shake my head. I need something to distract me from this -from all this-! If only I had a damn-

Oh.

I'm a freaking moron.

I slap my forehead before starting to go back to the hut.

Why would I curse over the lack of books when I have plenty inside my bag? And i'm supposed to be a tactician, someone who musn't overlook details. Great, just great.

I freeze suddenly. Wait a second. Just wait a god-damn second.

'Tactician'?

"_So you're saying you can size up the ennemy at first glance?"_

"_Swords, sorcery, tactics... Is there anything you can't do?!"_

"_All right, we'll leave it to you to formulate strategy."_

"_Are you sure you are up to the task, Tactician?"_

Voices. Again. I grit my teeth at the sharp pain in my head.

"What the hell is wrong with me...?" I whisper to myself as I sit once again on the ground.

'Everything', I answer myself with a chuckle as I lay down without touching my bag. I'm so messed up. But I guess it's no use trying to fight over something like that. Rather than focussing on something I cannot change with my own will, I should rather focus on what's gonna happen next. On what I CAN do.

I close my eyes.

But that, will wait for tomorrow.

**-**Time skip-** (Since it seems that this website doesn't want me to add separator lines)**

"Good morning, Robin! Are you awake yet?"

It feels like i've just gone back to sleep when Lyn's cheerful voice awakens me again.

"No. But I am now, thank you." I groan as I roll on my back. There, the sight of two pools of blue staring right at my face greets me. Her smile then turns to a small worried frown.

"That fight yesterday must have taken a lot out of you. Judging by the dark shades under your eyes."

Not the fight, lady. The voices.

"And i'm sure i've mentioned this before, but there are better places to sleep than on the ground." she says jiggling.

Again with those words.

"In case you haven't noticed, Lyn, there is only one bed for the two of us. And as much as I apreciate your company, I don't think you'd want to share a bed with a man you've just met." I reply with a grin as I see her blushing. " Also, I figured that I would be accustomed to the ground by now."

She slaps me across the shoulder and I laugh as she goes over a closet.

"I bet you're hungry?" she asks while taking a couple of bowls out of it.

As if on cue my stomach starts to growl and I roll my eyes.

"There's your answer." I reply as she laughs at me.

The breakfast was small, yet satisfying. But I guess someone who hasn't eaten for a whole day, possibly more, would be willing to eat almost anything. So yes, I was happy to simply eat rice with some salted meat and drink tea. As I finish to eat my share, I notice Lyn seems to be uneasy over something.

"What's on your mind?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

She looks at me and seems to consider her options before taking a deep breath.

"Say, Robin..."

"Yes?" I reply, trying to help her get out whatever she has off her chest.

"I wanted to... talk to you about something."

Oh boy. Why do I feel like she's going to confess her feelings to me? Easy there, Robin. This is completely out of her character and you have only met her yesterday. No use to go for the drama/romance scenario.

" And that would be?"

"Well, you have some experience in the ways of war, I can see. And I was wondering... Would you allow me to travel with you?"

Okay, I admit I wasn't expecting that.

Crossing my arms, I think about it for a moment. Sure, I would love to travel with someone but... I wouldn't want to trouble her with my problems. Besides, how could someone want to travel with an amnesic tactician wandering across the land without purpose? And what about her family? I take a deep breath before looking her into the eyes.

"Lyn, I am honnored that you think highly enough of me so that you wish to travel with me but... I don't think this is what you trully want to do. As you've probably guessed by now, I have no memory of who I am, why i'm here or even which country i'm in. I don't think you'd be able to get stronger by traveling with a stranger you've just met who will roam around the country without any goal in mind. Also, you are still quite young. I think you should, at least, get permission from your parents for something like this. This is no slight matter, as I am sure you are aware."

I see shock in her eyes, but not the kind of shock I expected. While i'm sure i've hit the nail, I feel that i've also hit something I shouldn't have.

"What? You... want me to get premission from my parents?" she asks like she didn't hear correctly.

That was not the whole point of this little speech, but whatever. I nod, unsure of where this conversation is going. Then, as I see her face drop, I suddenly realize that i've set foot on a dangerous ground.

Of course, you damn tactician. How could you fail to notice something so obvious?

The fact that she lives alone, with no one around her, not even friends or her tribe's members, should be clear enough.

"My mother and father... died six months ago..." she says quiely.

I resist the urge to hit myself for my clumsiness. Good job, Robin. Way to go. You just had to make her upset did you?

"Lyn..." I begin, but she cuts me off.

"My people -the Lorca- they don't... I'm the last of my tribe..." she continues as her shoulders are shaking with saddness. "Bandits attacked and... They killed so many people... The tribe was scattered..."

I get up and slowly come closer before putting a hand on her non-injured shoulder.

"Lyn... You don't have to-" once again, she cuts me off.

"My father was our chieftain, and I wanted to protect our people. But i'm so young... And our tribe was so clinging to our old traditions... They wouldn't follow a woman. No one would follow me..."

I see the tears dropping on the ground and before I even consider what i'm doing, I take her into my arms. She slids into my embrace, gripping me like she would do to a lifeboat in a storm. I stroke her hair gently, whispering soothing words of comfort into her ear as she weeps and sobs quietly. Once again, I feel like i've done this before. That I embraced someone the same way to let this person cry into my arms. But, as always, I can't remember.

After what felt like hours, probably just a few minutes in truth, she loosen her grip on me and wipe her teary eyes. "I'm sorry... It's just... I've been alone for so long..."

"Don't be. You had every right to cry. No one should have to deal with the loss of someone dear. And the first duty of a friend is to offer a shoulder to cry on." I say gently as I let her go.

"Thank you..." She takes a deep breath. "No more. I will shed no more tears... I think i'm better now."

"If you say so..." I reply before backing up slowly and sitting again.

"Robin, I want-" she shakes he head and I can see fire burning in her eyes. "No. I MUST become stronger! Stronger so that I may avenge my father's death!"

'Revenge, huh?' I think to myself. A noble goal in itself. But where will it get you, Lyn? What do you think you will find at then end of this path? What will it give to you? What will you do after that? What will you have left when you will have finally passed down justice upon your father's murderers?

"Yesterday's battle taught me something." She continues. "I won't become stronger by sitting here alone. So, Robin, I ask you once more: Will you let me travel with you? Will you train me?" She looks at me with determination-filled eyes.

"Very well." I say after a short moment. "It seems we have a deal." I smile as I see her beaming face.

"You will?! That's wonderful!" she exclaims before hugging me fiercely and I can't help but grin despite my blush. "Thank you! Oh thank you!" She stops hugging me and stands up. "We'll be better off working together, I know it! You'll be my master strategist, and i'll be your pearless warrior! We can do it! Right?!" I laugh at her antics while getting up myself. At least, this will not be a boring journey.

It seems that my path is settled then. I know that, should I leave her here, she will end up killing herself against bandits. That is, of course, if she doesn't follow me from afar. And I know she could do it. Because that's the kind of person she is. Stuborn, yes. Strong, yes. But she is also caring, gentle, and, most of all, fragile in her own ways. And there's no way i'm leaving her alone, not with what she has faced recently. After all, that's what friends are for, right?

**So? What do you think? Good? Bad? Review! I'm open to all advices comments, critics and suggestions! Just don't flame to hard if that's how you feel about this.**

**This is MidnightFenrir, author of "Child of the Fell and Divine dragons", signing out.**

**25/01 update: I made chapter two and chapter one into one chapter because it will allow me to have one written chapter for one chpater of the game and because chapter three was twice longer than chapter two.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm glad you enjoy my story and I am proud to give you the 2nd chapter of "Child of the Fell and Divine dragons"!**

**I still can't believe no one had the idea to put Robin in Rekka no Ken before me... **

**Oh, by the way, I realize I didn't give Robin's or any of the characters' age. I guess while Lyn is around nineteen or so at this point of the story, Robin is... twenty-one or twenty-two, I think, by the end of Awakening. The fire emblem wiki states that Eliwood should be sixteen years old in Lyn's story, while Hector is seventeen but I will change Eliwood's age to nineteen and Hector's to twenty for plot reasons.**

**I mean, c'mon, they hardly look and act like they still are teenagers and Chrom is already nineteen at the beginning of awakening. Plus, we wouldn't want the age difference between the Lords and Robin to be that big, would we?**

**Also, if you've been wondering and didn't go on my profile, English isn't my first language as i'm french. So if you think my language seems forced or weird, it's normal, I guess.**

**As you've noticed, i'm using a 1st person POV and there might be times where I change from Robin's perspective to someone else but it will mainly be Robin's POV. **

**As always, I have only one thing left to say: enjoy!**

? POV

"So, how fares the child of dragons?" I ask the Archsage as I sit in front of him.

"He seems to be quickly adaptating to what happened to him. It's like a latent instinct that allows him to take the situation easier." answers the old man without even looking at me.

"Of course" I reply with a shrug. "Experience speeks for itself. He already lost his memories once. So a second time allowed his body to take control over his mind. Even if he cannot remember, his body and his soul do."

"Yet, at the same time..." continues the Archsage. "He seems more disturbed than ever. He knows he's missing something important and it scares him. I can't help but worry at what may happen."

" What is Naga's purpose in sending him here? Why hasn't she sent him to the spirit realm? He would have been happy there. He would have gone back to HER. Was it too much to ask to give him a peace of both mind and body?" I speak with an icy tone.

The old man shakes his head. "I do not know anymore than you do, my friend. The wills of the Divine Dragon remain obscure to me and Elimine refuses to tell me anything."

"So, we're beeing kept in the dark?" I state, resuming our situation.

"It would seem so." he replies calmly.

"She'd better have a worth good damn reason... Nobody should have to go through what he does. It's not fair! The gods hear me, it's just not fair... Both for him and HER."

The Archsage doesn't answer me. I know he is as confused as I am. I let out a big sigh as I look toward the sky.

What was Naga thinking? What is it she wants to achieve by draging the master tactician of Ylisse beyond time and space into Elibe?

"I just wish I could know what's going on..." I whisper. I see Athos nod before leaving the room to me and me to my thoughts.

I let out another sigh as I watch the couple through the big crystal ball he was studying.

"Just don't do anything stupid... Robin."

Robin's POV

"So... This is Bulgar, the biggest city in all Sacae..." I say to myself as I look around the crowded central place. "Quite impressive, I must say, to see so much people in a city like this."

"_So this is Ylisstol, capital of Ylisse... I've never seen so many people!"_

"Today is a Market Day after all. There are bound to be more people than usual." states Lyn beside me.

"'Market Day'?" I repeat, curious.

"Yes. It's something that happen only once a month, when the merchand caravans come back from their trip to the other countries. People from all kind of places are making the journey here just for this event because of the unique kind of products that the merchands sell." she clarifies.

"I see... And it only lasts one day?" I ask.

"It depends. The merchands are staying in the city for one week before they travel again but the Market Day may last two, perhaps three days if they have sold enough the first day and if their stocks aren't empty." she explains to me

"Then it would be a waste not to take full advantage of such an event, would it?" I say as I stand up from the bench.

"Indeed." Lyn replies as she stands up too. "We should purchase supplies for our journey."

Finding what we want shouldn't be a hard task. Food, water, a map (who told me that I was living on continent called Elibe), maybe a spare sword and some clothes. We don't need to buy that much and we're better off travelling light after all. But i'm quite curious in what all the stores have to offer. Let's see... jewels, spices, perfumes, alcohol, traveling goods, armors... Aha! 'At last, a bookstore!' I think as I walk through the crowd to my target.

In our four days of travel from Lyn's hut to Bulgar, I had plenty of time to check the books inside my bag and read them -again-. It wasn't a surprise when I found quite a lot of books -four in fact- treating of strategy and tactics but what surprised me was that I found one titled "Make Him Fall for You in a Fortnight".

…

Why would I have a romantic book for depressed girls in my belongings? I don't know why I haven't throwed it away yet.

As I make my way to the bookstore I suddenly hear a voice covering the crowd's rumbling.

"Oh, my heart! What a dazzling vision of loveliness!" shouts a male voice.

I freeze in my tracks and turn around. I guess they aren't only depressed girls who are reading such books. 'But who could be stupid enough to say something like that out loud?' I wonder as I watch the crowd.

"Hm?" I hear Lyn saying as she turns around too.

"Wait, O beauteous one!" I hear a young man in green armour saying as he comes... Right at us to take Lyn's hands into his own.

As I see her eyes widening, I can't help but raise an eyebrow at the man's behavior. 'Did he really just do that?' I think while not quite believing what i'm both hearing and seeing.

"Would you not favor me with your name? Or better yet, your company?" I hear him continue with a passion-filled voice while Lyn and I are struck dumbfounded by his words.

"_Life may be long, but attraction is fleeting! Would you leave me in your sweet dust?"_

I resist the urge to slap my palm across my forehead. I guess there really ARE such people in the world.

"Where are you from, sir knight, that you speek so freely to a stranger?" I hear Lyn reply after she regains her composure as I see her shaking her hands free.

"Ha! I thought you'd never ask! I am from Lycia." answers the green armored -and haired- knight.

'Lycia' huh? I'm not going there anytime soon.

"I hail from Caelin canton, home to men of passion and fire!" he states with a wide smile.

That's it. It's too much. I bury my face into my right hand with a grimace as I shake my head.

"Shouldn't that be 'home to callow oafs with loose tongues'?" replies Lyn with a -very- annoyed tone.

"I wouldn't have said it better." I whisper loud enough for them to hear me.

"Ooooh... You're even lovely when you're cruel." the knight says without paying attention to me.

This guy doesn't know when to quit does he?

"Let's go, Robin. I've nothing more to say." Lyn states as she turns around before grabbing me away with her.

There goes my opportunity to buy some books.

"Wait! Please..." I hear the man saying before another voice interrupts him.

"Sain! Hold you tongue!"

I'm too far away to hear what they are discussing now, but i'm glad there is someone to hold down this guy if he goes too far into his flirting. I just wish he would have arrived sooner.

Kent's POV

'I can't believe it! How could he just go hitting on some random girl when we're on an important mission?!' I think as I walk toward my comrade.

"Wait! Please..." I hear him say to the young woman who already has her back turned to him.

"Sain! Hold your tongue!" I shout to shut him up.

"Ah, Kent! My boon companion! Why so severe an expression?" he asks almost innocently as he turns to face me.

I almost twitch. It's still a wonder how he managed to become a knight with an attitude like that.

"If your manners were more serious, I wouldn't have to be so severe!" I chastise him. "We still have a mission to complete, Sain!"

"I know that." he replies with a childish pout. "But how could I remain silent in the presence of such beauty? It would have been discourteous!"

Saint Elimine! How could someone be so carefree?

"What do YOU know of courtesy?!" I yell at him with an angry glare. "Come, whe have lost enough time because of you."

I turn around and go back to our horses near the city's entrance whithout paying attention to his whining. This day has only just begun and i'm already in a bad mood. I sigh. 'I need a vacation after this is over'.

Robin's POV

"Lyn, I know you're angry. Heck, you have every right to. But could you please let go of my arm?" I asks as she is still dragging me across the city. "I'd like it if the blood circulation inside would become normal once again."

She snaps her head and look down at my wrist trapped in the iron grip of her hand. Instantly, she blushes and lets go.

"Sorry..." she says quietly while looking down.

"It's all right." I smile as I move my wrist to allow the blood to flow. "Do we have everything we came for? Or is there something else we should buy?"

"No, I think we're all packed up." she replies after checking her bag.

"Then what do you say we get out of the city? I think we could both use a moment of calm and rest."

"Gladly." she says before leading me through the crowd.

In a few minutes, we make it back to th city's entrance, only to be greated by the sight of the green haired and armored knight and his companion, an orange haired man clad in red armor, both on their horses. The first looks bored while the second is like a brewing storm -I can see it at his body language- ready to blow at any moment.

"Excuse me!" says Lyn with a clearly angry, but controlled, voice. "You're blocking the road."

Their gaze turn to us and I see the green one lighting up at the sight of Lyn, much to her and his companion's annoyance.

"If you would be so kind to move your horses..." she continues, almost sarcastly.

The red one gives us a quick nod. "Of course. My apologies..." he replies as he moves his horse to the side to clear the way.

Well, at least this one looks like he has what it takes to be a knight.

"Thank you" says Lyn giving him a nod. "You, at least, seem honorable enough."

I see the knight opening his mouth to speak before he frowns his eyes, looking at her.

"Hm? Pardon me, but... Have we met before?" he asks with a confused look.

'Are you kidding me?' I think before looking at him. But what I see surprises me. He looks truly confused, like he knows something but can't put his finger on it. Could he have really met Lyn before? But before I can voice my thoughts, however, I hear Lyn replying to the knight.

"I beg your pardon?" she says like she can't believe what he just said.

"Hey!" my gaze turns to the green knight as I hear him speak loudly. "No fair, Kent! I saw her first!" he says, sounding almost like a child.

I watch as 'Kent' turns to his companion to reply but Lyn reacts fatser.

"Tsk! It seems there are no decent men among Lycia's knights!" she shouts angrily before turning to me. "Let's go, Robin! I've run out of patience!" she says before going away without waiting for my answer.

"Wait, please! It's not what I... It's not like that." he tries to explain but she's already far away and all I can do is run to catch with her. But I still hear the red knight next words as he yells at his comrade.

"Sain, you lout!"

-Scene change-

"Lyn, wait!" I shout as I finaly catch up with her.

She stops when she hears me but I can see she's still boiling with anger.

"Look, I know you are angry but... That red knight seemed honestly confused to me. Are you sure you haven't met him before? I know looks can be deceiving but I pretty sure he wasn't lying when he said that." I say, tryning to ease the tension.

Her shoulders drop with a sigh.

"I believe you, Robin. But honestly, that green knight was enough on his own and when his companion said that I just... snaped."

"Yes, I saw that." I say as I place a hand on her shoulder. "But that's in the past now. We have a long journey ahead of us and there's no knight to flirt with you. So let's forget about this." I finish with a smile.

"Yes, you're right. I shouldn't let this kind of thing get to me." She replies with a smile of her own.

Suddenly, I frown. 'Something's weird' I think while looking around us. 'It's too quiet.' There are no animals, not even birds, and the road is empty. Why isn't there anyone outside the city?

"What's wrong?" Lyn asks me when she notices my behavior. I put a finger on my lips to shush her as I continue to look at our surroundings.

'I have a bad feelings about this...'

Then, I see someone moving between the trees. In fact, I see several people moving in the shadows.

"Run!" I yell. "We're being pursued!" I break into another sprint, Lyn following closely behind.

"Could it be those knights from town?!" she asks as we run toward a bridge.

"No... It's not them." I say between two breaths. "Those men are out for blood!"

As if on cue, a big man in an attire similar to the bandits from a few days ago steps out in front of us, his axe on his shoulder and a sadistik smile on his face.

"Heh heh hehhh... Aren't you a pretty one!" he says as he looks at Lyn. "Your name is Lyndis, is it not?"

'Lyndis'? What does he mean? I look at her to see shock written on her face.

"What did you just call me...?" she says in a breath. "Who are you?!" Her face is now contorted in anger.

The bandit shakes his head.

"Such a waste. An absolute waste." There is no doubt for the meaning behind those words as for what would be wasted and why it will be. "The things I'll do for gold... Ah well." He looks at us. "Time to die darlin'!"

Instinctively, I step in front of Lyn, my hand on the hilt of my sword.

"Not on my watch. Back off!" I say as I shoot him an icy glare.

"Looks like ya want to die, lad." he says, unfazed. "C'mon out, boys!" he shouts to his left.

As soon as he says that, I see five men, three axemen and two swordsmen, coming out of the trees around us.

This is 're not surrounded yet but I know we will soon.

"Oh no! There are more than we can handle..." Says Lyn as she looks at them. "But I won't give up!" she exclaims as she draw her sword.

"_Hope will never die! I will challenge my fate as long as I draw breath!"_

'Ugh! Not now!' I wince at the sharp pain in my head as I try to focus on the ennemy in front of me.

"Hey! There she is!" a familiar voice shouts behind us.

"Huh?" "What?" "Who?"

I turn around to see the two knights from earlier coming right at us.

"Whew... Finally caught up..." Says the green one as he stops his horse beside Lyn and I. His gaze turns to the bandits. "You there! What is your business?!" he shouts at their leader before looking at the rest of them. "Such numbers against a girl? Cowards! Every one of you!" he spats at them.

'Thank you, sir knight. Please go on as if I wasn't here...' I think while my gaze turns to the red one.

"You! You are-" Lyn begins but he cut her off.

"We can discuss that later. It appears these ruffians mean to do you harm." he says while eyeing them. "If it's a fight they want... Then let them look at me!" He shouts as he draws his blade from it's scabbard.

"Stand back! I'll take care of this!" the green one says, gripping a spear in his hand.

"No! This is my fight! Stay out of my way!" Lyn shouts at the both of them.

"QUIET! ALL OF YOU!" I snap, yelling at them.

Shocked looks turn to me. "It is not the time nor the place to fight over something like that! The ennemy is right in front of us and we must act!" I look at Lyn. "You are letting your pride get the better of you! Snap out of it!" I turn my gaze at the knights. "This is not a fight neither of us can take on alone! Right now, we must move as a group if we want to get out of this alive! Teamwork is the key to survival!"

"I belive I have a solution to this whole problem." Says the red knight as he looks at me. "Command us. We will follow your oders in this battle. I am Kent, knight of Lycia. My companion is Sain." He turns to Lyn. "Is this accepatble, milady?"

She nods. "Yes, it is. Robin and I will lead!" She turns to me. "Let's go!"

I give her a sharp nod as I draw my sword and turn to face the bandits. Apparently, they know how horsemen can be deadly on a plains since they scattered around the the bridge and the trees. Maybe they faced knights before, but I can't be sure.

"Sain! I want you to charge the axeman to your left! He's out in the open and we don't want him to gain some advantage against us!"

"Here I come!" he shouts as I see him charge the bandit... with his spear.

'What is he doing?! Doesn't he know that axes have the advantage over spears?!

I am helpless as I watch Sain thrust his weapon at his ennemy, miss and receive a wound across the chest as the bandit catches him open. If not for his armor, this could have proven fatal for him.

"Damn! How could I miss?!" he exclaims as he backs off from the axeman. But before I can answer him, Kent do it for me.

"Sain! Why aren't you using your sword?" he asks him with his eyes frowned.

"The lance is more heroic! A knight should look heroic, don't you think?" Sain replies with a grin.

"You're hopeless." says Kent flatly before starting to lecture him. "If you don't take fighting more seriously, you're going to find yourself on the end of a blade!"

My thoughts exactly.

But my guess is that Sain might just be better with a spear rather than a sword. And judging by the way he striked at his foe, even if he missed, I can say that he's good with it. But right now, using his spear against the axeman will only result in more injuries.

"Sain." he turns to me. "I'm sure you know about the weapon triangle: axes beat lances, lances beat swords and swords beat axes. While a spear has a long range, it is easy for an axe to deflect it's blow and even cut it if the wielder is fast and strong enough. The point of using a sword against an axe is because it gives you more adaptability and maneuverability over your foe. But even then, there are still risks. To try to kill an axeman means to step into the reach of his weapon. And an axe needs only one blow to end your life where a sword might need severals. But a horseman doesn't have this problem as he is technically on a upper ground where the axe can barely reach him, even if he strikes with a sword."

I'm not even trying to know where I got that from. I just know it.

"Yes, I know all of this." He replies as he roll his eyes.

"Then you know that trying to look 'heroic' will only result in your death." I states as I cross my arms on my chest.

"Well... Truth to be told..." he looks away. "I... forgot to buy a sword." he says quietly.

Wait. What?

Did he just say 'I forgot to buy a sword'?

I think my jaw just dropped right now.

"_Speaking of which, are you SURE you remembered your axe this time?"_

"_Hey! That was one time! …Okay, twice. But training sessions don't count."_

"'Forgot?' Or were you simply too busy dallying with the ladies?" Kent asks as he narrow his eyes into a suspicious glare.

"Don't be mad! I'll be fine with a lance I'm that good!" Sain replies cheaply **(is this the right word? I'm not sure)**

"I'd prefer to rely on your skill, not your empty bragging!" shouts Kent as he reach to his left side and pulls another sword that he gives to him. "Take my spare blade and use it to attack next time you are against an axe!"

"Are you sure?" Sain eyes his friend as he takes the sword. "My thanks, Kent!" says the green knight before turning back to the battlefield.

"You're almost more trouble than you're worth. Almost." I hear the red knight mutter under his breath before he turns to me. "Robin, allow me to make up for my companion's blunder. I am at your command!"

I nod. "Very well, Kent. As I said, teamwork is the key to both survival and victory. Go help Sain! After you've delt with this axeman, I want both of you to eliminate the swordsman near the woods! Use the trees to your advantage! Lyn and I will take care the other axemen. Once you're done, I want you to regroup with us." I tell him.

"Yes sir!" he salutes me before riding to his comrade's help.

I turn to Lyn, who is waiting for me. "You know the plan! Let's go!" I say, drawing my sword.

She gives me a quick nod and we run to the bridge where two bandits are waiting for us, axes at the ready.

"You take the right! I'll handle the one on the left."

She nods one more time and a few seconds later, with a war cry coming from each of the fighters, steel meets steel as weapons clash against each other.

Immediately, I realize that my opponent is smarter than I expected. As obvious as it is that he relies on strengh alone to win, he's not just all muscles and no brain. I can see it at the way he grips his axe that he knows the weakness of his weapon and how to make up for them.

In other words, he knows how to fight. This might be a challenge, as i'm not as quick or agile as Lyn, but I have more than one trick up to my sleve.

I jump back and take my stance, ready to meet him as he comes at me with his axe raised. For several seconds, we exchange blows against each other, grunting and panting as none of us manage to make a clean hit on the other. Then, I see what I was waiting for: a wild, diagonal, swing with both hands gripped on the hilt of the axe for more power. I meet his blow with one of my own and we become engaged in a weapon lock. A contest of strengh where i'm clearly at disavantage over my opponent. I see him grin as he slowly push me backward, his arms' muscles contracting under the effort. I smile.

"Checkmate."

I suddenly stop applying strengh into my arms and duck under the axe as it cuts the air over my head. I can see the dumbfounded look on my opponent's face as he stumbles forward, clearly not believing what's happening. With a shout, I spin once to gain some momentum and, using both of our movements against him, slash him across his belly. I don't even need to wonder if the wound if fatal or not as I see his insides dropping out of him on the bridge, with blood flowing out of the injury like an endless flow as he falls on his back.

But I know he's not dead yet. Wounds like those are the worst, as they only leave you to a slow, painful death. Letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding, I walk up to him and quickly put him out of his misery by cutting his throat.

Hearing footsteps behind me, I turn around to see Lyn walking toward me, apparently uninjured, and a bandit corpse standing face on the ground in a pool of blood a few feets behind her.

"I assume you are done on your part?" I say as I get up.

She nods. "It was easier than I expected, so i've been watching you in case you needed help."

I give her a 'thank you' nod and turn to the sound of horses coming on our way. I watch silently as Sain and Kent stop beside us.

"As you've asked, the two bandits have been taken care of." Reports Kent as he looks at me. "The swordsman took us a bit more time than expected, however, as he was using the trees for cover."

I smile and nod once again. "Good job. All that's left now is the second swordsman and their leader." My gaze fall on Sain and I frown. "Why haven't you treated your injury yet?" I ask him as I eye the cut left by the axe earlier.

"Sain... Don't tell me you forgot to buy vulneraries too." says Kent with an annoyed tone.

"Hm... I guess I did?" replies the green knight while scratching the back of his head.

Kent and I both let out a sigh as Lyn approaches him.

"You. Sain, was it?"

"Yes! Sain, the gallant man of Caelin. That's me!" the fool answers with a smile.

"If you insist..." she mutters. "Are you alright? Can you still go on with this injury?"

"Oh? This?" he replies, looking at his shoulder. "To wrinkle that perfect brow of yours with worry for me... This is too much!" He looks like he just received the blessing of the gods themselves.

Damn, I pity Kent for having to deal with him everyday.

"Uh... I was thinking of giving you a vulnerary, but..." Lyn says before turning back. "It looks like you're fine. So, never mind." she states as she begins to walk away.

"No wait! I'll take it! Please! I'll take it!" Sain shouts almost desperately and I can't help but let out a small laugh at the way his mind changes from one state to another.

Rolling her eyes, Lyn gives him a vulnerary that he quickly drink in three gulps.

"Now then." I say while looking at the three of them. "Shall we?" They give me a collective nod and we cross the bridge to find the second swordsman, his weapon on his shoulder, waiting for us. I smile and turn to the green knight.

"All right, Sain! Show us what you can do with that lance of yours!" I say, pointing the lone swordsman.

"With pleasure!" he exclaims before chargin head on, lance in hand, and I can't help but feeling impressed when I see that with a quick spin of his weapon followed by a thrust he manages to get past the man's guard and pierce his throat.

I guess he were telling the truth when he said he was 'that good' with a lance.

Slightly ahead, I see the leader spitting on the ground as he brings out his axe in front of him.

"Accursed knights, always tampering in others' affairs!" He yells as he charge at Lyn, who dodge the strike with little effort before striking back with her own weapon, leaving several gashes across his torso. Then, as quick as the wind, she lunges forward and stabs the bandit in the heart.

"B-blast...!" he mutters as Lyn release her blade from his chest. "There was only... supposed to be a lone... girl..." His last words ending in a whisper as he falls to the ground.

"That was the last of them! Fantastic work, Robin!" Lyn says with a smile as she turns to face me.

"It was my pleasure, Lyn." I reply with a bow before turning to the Sain and Kent. "And now for you knights of Lycia. Are you going to share your story with us?" I ask, looking at both of them.

"Certainely." says Kent before taking a deep breath. "We have ventured from Caelin and Lycia in search of someone."

"Lycia... That's the country beyond the southwest mountains, isn't it?" Lyn says.

"Correct." continues Kent. "We've come as messengers to the lady of Caelin, Lady Madelyn, who eloped with a nomad some nineteen years ago."

"Madelyn?!" I hear shock and surprise in Lyn's voice. The same shock she had when the bandit leader called her 'Lyndis'.

"Our lord the marquess of Caelin's only daughter." he clarifies. "He was heartbroken his own daughter would abandon him so. Eventually, our lord simply declared that he had no daughter."

That's quite the tale, all right, but where are we going with this?

"But then this year, we received a letter from Lady Madelyn." Sain goes on after his companion. "It said that she, her husband and daughter were living happily on the Sacae plains."

Ah. Here we go. But is this going where I think this is going?

"The marquess was estatic to learn he had a granddaughter of eighteen years. I remember the smile on his face when he announced that he'd suddenly become a grandfather." Sain continues with a smile. "The granddaughter's name is Lyndis. This was also the name of the marquess's wife, who passed away at early age."

"Lyndis..?" the girl beside me whispers as if she cannot believe it.

"That she should bear this name thawed the marquess's heart. Now, his only wish is to meet his daughter's family at least once. This is why we're here."

"But what we didn't know, was that Lady Madelyn died a few days after sending her letter..." Kent looks down as he says this.

"We've only heard this shortly after we arrived in Bulgar, a few days ago." precises Sain.

"But. We also learned that all was not lost." Kent says as he turns his gaze to Lyn. "Her daughter yet lives. We heard that she was living, alone, on the plains..." He stops for a short moment. "I... I knew it immediately. You ARE the Lady Lyndis."

"_She's also the best sister anyone could have!"_

"_Wait, what? She's your... But wouldn't that make you..."_

"_The prince and princess of the relm, yes."_

And the hammer comes down.

"Why would you think that..." Lyn begins but the knight cuts her off.

"Your ressemblance to your departed mother is remarkable." he states as if it was a matter of fact.

Not that I doubt him, anyway.

"What? Did you know my mother?" Lyn asks, surprised by this statement.

Kent shakes his head. "I'm sorry to say I never met her directly. But I saw her portraits in Castle Caelin."

For a short moment, no onse says anything.

"To the rest of my tribe, I was only Lyn." I turn my head to look at her, her face leaning as she speaks. "But when I was with my parents... When it was just the three of us, I was Lyndis."

Oï. Why are you saying this like Lyn and Lyndis are two completely different people?

She looks up to the sky. "It's all so strange." she says as she closes he eyes. "I was all alone in the world, and now I have a grandfather."

Aouch. My feelings. I know I don't count as family but still, that kind of hurts.

"Lyndis... I never though I would hear that name again..."

Wait a minute. There's something weird there. Something's not right... Ah!

"Wait!" I say and everyone turn their gazes on me. "That bandit! He called you Lyndis too, didn't he?"

I see everybody's eyes widening.

"What? How could he have-" Kent doesn't finish his sentence as Sain cut him off.

"... He must have been a henchman of Lord Lundgren." He says with venom in his tone.

"Lundgren? Who's that?" asks Lyn with here eyes frowned.

Let me guess. A power hungry fool who wishes to strip you of your rights to the throne. Probably a member of your family.

"He's the marquess's younger brother." explains Kent. "Everyone assumed that Lady Madelyn was gone forever. This made Lord Lundgren heir to the marquess's title."

Right on target. Ding ding ding. One hundred points for our winner.

"To be blunt, milady, your existence is an obstacle to your granduncle's albitions."

To be blunt, that was very much blunt, Sain. Thank you.

"That's- But I have no interest in inheriting any title!" exclaim Lyn with a shocked tone.

"Unfortunatly, your granduncle isn't the sort of man to believe that. I believe the attempts on your life will persist." Sain says, finishing his train of thoughts.

"What should I do?" Lyn asks.

"Accompany us to Caelin. Continuing this way is dangerous." Kent says before turning to me. "Not that I doubt you or your abilities, sir. I meant no offense."

"None taken, sir knight."I reply with a quick shake of my head. "It's perfectly normal to be wary in those kind of situation."

"_Heh. It's a dangerous job. Just ask Frederick the Wary, here."_

"_A title I shall wear with pride. Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution."_

"I feel I have little choice." Lyn says after thinking for a few seconds. "I will go with you."

Kent nods. "Very well. If you would wait for us here while we pack our belongings at the inn. We shall be back in a matter of minutes." he says before riding back to the city, Sain following him.

I hear a deep sigh and turn to look at Lyn, with her face down and guilty eyes.

"Robin... I'm sorry. This changes everything."

"Don't be sorry, Lyn. No one could foresee something like this. Unless, of course, it's a common thing to see knights coming into your life to tell you that you are the heir of a noble."

She smiles and look at me. "I guess so." she seems to hesitate for a second before finally saying what's on her mind. "Say... What will you do, Robin?"

Hm? What will I do?

"I think the answer to that should be obvious, Lyn." I state with a smile. "As I told you before we started this journey, I have no memory and no purpose in mind. We would have just wandered across the land for who knows how much time. And now that we finally have a clear objective of what we're gonna do, you expect me to turn away from you?"

She looks down again. "Well, no... I mean- Of course, your companionship would do much to ease my journey but... It's going to be so dangerous."

Because what happened today and a few days ago wasn't dangerous to you?

"Lyn." I call her as I put a hand on her shoulder and she looks at me once again. "I am your friend. And friends don't abandon each other. So of course I'll come with you. What happened to 'the pearless warrior and her master tactician' thing? I hope you didn't forget about that." I say with a playful smile as she looks at me with wide eyes.

"You'll come? Are you sure?" I nod. "Thank you!" she exclaims as she hugs me. "Let me ask once again for your frienship and your aid."

"That, you already have..." I reply as I return the hug, blushing.

It seems like fate has stroke at us for the second time. But where will it take us, I wonder? If I think about it, I just chose to dive straight into the beast's maw. But where would be the fun otherwise? I knew this journey wouldn't be a boring one and it has just become more interesting, to say the least.

**Damn this took me a long time to write. I spent almost an entire day (and night) on this chapter! I hope it lived up to your expectations.**

**Again, review if it pleases you. I welcome all opinions, suggestions and advices on this.**

**This is MidnightFenrir, author of "Child of the Fell and Divine dragons", signing out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again, everyone! This is MidnightFenrir speaking and first of all, I want to thank all of you who gave me a review! I trully apreciate it. **

**Also, I want to thank the ones who decided to follow my story. It pleases me to know that you judged my story interesting enough. **

**Lastly, to everyone, thank you for simply reading my story and I am proud to give you the chapter three of "Child of the Fell and Divine dragons".**

**As always, enjoy!**

Robin's POV

As we begin our trip to our newest destination, Caelin, I can't help but study the two knights.

While Sain is clearly a joking womanizer, he seems to know when he needs to be serious and act as a knight should, albeit I think he could do it without the whole "heroic" thing. But that doesn't change the fact that outside of battle, he is a bit... annoying, to say the least. But his cheerfulness is something we could all use, giving the situation we're in. He's like a wild lance that needs to be wielded with precaution.

Still, I know can rely on Kent to put him back to his place when he crosses the line. The red knight acts like the perfect soldier: stoïc, always serious and on the watch, ready to put the others' safety before himself. But I fear he might be too serious for his own good, especially when we're talking about something other than the saftey of our group or our plans for future battles. It's like he sees nothing else other than his duty to protect Lyn, which I can understand but... In that aspect, he's like a shield that will stand in the way of any danger until he breaks.

I guess they complement each other, in a way.

"Hum... Robin?"

A voice snaps me out of my thinking and I turn around to see Lyn standing a few feets behind me.

"Yes? What's wrong Lyn?"

"I was wondering... Would you mind if we did a little detour on our way?" she asks me.

"Well, personnally I don't mind but... Why do you want to?" I reply, curious.

"There is a sword enshrined in altar a bit farther to the East."Lyn explains to me. "The people of Sacae go there to pray for safety at the onset of a long journey."

"I see. Well, what are we waiting for?" she looks a bit surprised as I say this. "What? It's not like I have the right to forbid you of honoring the tradition of your people. Who would I be to do that? I may be your tactician and the one who commands you in battle but that doesn't mean I am going to order you around like I am a king or something. I think of you as an equal and that's the same for Sain and Kent."

"Hey! What are you talking about?"

'Speaking of the devil...' I think while turning to face the green knight.

"Oh, Sain. Lyn wants us to make a slight detour to a shrine to pray for our safety during our journey."

"Oh! How quaint!" he replies.

...And what exactly do you mean by that?

"The teachings of Elimine have the most followers in Elibe" states Kent as he joins the conversation. "It's nice to see that, here at least, the ancient customs are still observed. I see no problem in going to that shrine."

Wow. That was unexpected, coming from you, Kent.

"Well it's settled, then." I say, nodding. "Lead the way, Lyn."

She gives me a small smile before turning around to the east, with us following behind.

I must say i'm curious. I understand praying to a shrine for the blessing of the Gods, but why praying to a sword? There must be something special about it. Maybe it's a relic from the past that has accomplished great deeds at the hands of her master before beeing enshrined? This ought to be quite interesting.

"I beg your pardon, milady. Are you headed east, to the altar?"

Once again, a voice interrupts my musing and I lift up my head to find a woman coming to us. She is panting and looks afraid, I note with a frown.

"Yes, we are indeed." Lyn answers her.

Oh no... Don't tell me...

"Then you must hurry and help the priests there!" the woman exclaims. "I saw a band of local rufians head in there not long ago. They seemed intent on stealing the altar's sacred sword!"

...It seems we have a knack for going into trouble. It can't be helped, I guess, as we were going to find trouble sooner or later anyway.

"The Mani Katti... They're going to steal it?" Lyn says with an angry tone. "I cannot allow this to happen! We will retrieve the sword and save the priests, or die trying!" she shouts.

"You look like a virtuous group, indeed. Please, help them! I'll try to find more help!" the woman say before dashing past us.

"Lyndis, what are you planning?"

I turn back to my companions at the sound of Sain's voice.

"If we hope to go the priest's aid, we'll need to prepare." Kent says

"You're right..." Lyn replies before putting her hand to her chin in a thinking gesture.

I clear my throat and they all look at me like they have forgotten about my person.

Gods, I am that quiet that I erase my presence? I'm still quite sure i'm not as quiet as Kent.

"That's supposed to be my job, remember?" I say, before looking around us.

"First, we should gather information. I can see houses to the south. Sain, Kent. You'll be faster with your horses. I want you two to go and ask for anything that you think might be important. Number of ennemies, the shrine's disposition, anything that could help us." They nod. "When you're finished, meet us near the shrine, so we can plan our next course of action." I'm not even finished that Said is already riding South with a "On my way!" as he urges his horse forward.

"We will come back with good news." says Kent before following his companion.

"All right, then." is say as I turn to Lyn. "Let's move."

She nods in return and we begin to jog toward the east. As we come closer to the shrine, I can't help but notice that while it's not small, it's not big either.

"Damn..." I swear under my breath. "I hope it's not like a church inside or we're gonna be in trouble..."

"What do you mean?" Lyn asks.

"Fighting indoors will already be bad enough for Kent and Sain, as they will have little mobility inside to move their horses." I explain. "If the inside is like a church, with benches and all, fighting on a horse will be suicide as they won't be able to move at all. Also, we loose the asset of being able to make a rapid cavalry charge to take our opponents unaware. If a horse cannot use his speed in a battle, it's useless."

"I don't think you will have to worry about that." she says to me and I look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh? And why is that?" I ask her.

"In our customs, we never used benches to pray. And as far as I know, that hasn't changed over the years. So I'm confident there won't be any obstacle that might hinder our path." she replies.

I grin. "Excellent! That will make things much more easier for everybody. Now, we only have to wait for-"

"Robin, watch out!" Lyn suddenly exclaims before shoving me to the side. I watch in surprise as I see a man swing his axe where I was standing a second earlier before Lyn ends his life with a prefect executed quick-draw aimed at his throat.

She turn to me. "Are you alright?" she asks with a concerned tone.

I nod and release a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Yes. Thank you, Lyn. I've been careless." I say as I grab the hand she is lending me. At that moment, pain soar through my head and my vision goes white.

_What is this? What's happening?_

_I look around, but there is nothing but the white void. Then, suddenly._

"_Here, give me your hand."_

_I do a turnabout and i'm suddenly in a field, watching a man whose face is unclear as he stretch a hand to..._

"_Me...?" I whisper in disbelief as I watch myself getting up on my feet with the help of the man._

"_Are you alright?" he asks my other self._

"_Yes, thank you... Chrom."_

Just as suddenly as the vision came, it disappears and I find myself on my feet, looking at Lyn.

"Robin? Are you sure you're alright?" shes asks with her head tilted to the right.

I blink a few times. What was that? Could it be a vision from my past? But... How?

I shake my head, mentally hiting kicking myself. This is not the place nor the time to think about it.

"I'm fine." I answer Lyn. "I just... spaced out for a second, I guess." I reply with a sorry smile and she gives me a strange look me for an instant. Like she knows I'm hiding something but won't ask what.

"If you say so." she simply says. "But how in the blazes did that man managed to to come this near without us noticing him?"

I look around us and point an old stone tower. "Most likely, he was hiding in there to be on watch and warn his companions in case the local militia would come. He must have thought we were simply some travelers, easy preys for him, and decided to take his chance. But it seems he's bitten more than he could chew."

"You're saying this now but you almost lost your head." she chastises me. "If I had saw him even just a second later, you could have lost an arm. Or maybe more." she finishes, hanging her head down.

"Don't worry too much, Lyn. I made a mistake and you saved me from suffering the consequences, period." I say, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You know what they say. On the battlefield, they are no 'if I had' or 'if I hadn't'. During a battle, you don't focus on the past but on the present and, to an extend, on the future. The only thing we can do after is to ensure that something like what just happened never happens again. And I'm not a man to make the mistake twice."

Strangely, that caused her to frown more at me and I tilt my head to the side as to ask 'What's the problem?'

"Again, you speek like you already have experienced a lot of battles before this." she says, crossing her arms. "And yet you act like it's almost your first time. It's like there is Robin who knows everything at combat and strategy and another one who is just an apprentice tactician."

"What can I say?" I reply with a shrug. "As I told you before, I have no recollection of what happened to me or who I am, so my guess is as good as yours. It's true that aside my strategy books that i've red over those past days, some pieces of strategy and advice eventually come to my mind. So, I must have studied it somewhere in the past. It's like I have an instinct that awakens only when i'm into the battle."

She stays silent for a moment before looking at me again. "You know, we Sacaeans have a particular relationship to the matters between body, soul and spirits. It is said that when you don't remember how to do something you once did, your soul and body remember and will give you that knowledge eventually. Another of our believes is that when you are doing something you have no recognition of doing before, like it suddenly came over you, it's because the spirits of your past lives and ancestors are offering you that knowledge." she explains to me.

"And? What's your point?" I ask.

"That while you cannot remember your past or your experiences, your body and your soul do." she clarifies. "Making you do things that you don't remember doing, but that feel oddly familiar. Perhaps more at some times than others because those actions had a particular impact on your life, like your tactician training."

I put my hand under my chin. "I must say I never considered it like that. That's quite an interesting theory you have here. If that is true, does that mean I would need to do things i've done in the past to remember?"

'Also, that might explain the voices and this vision' I add to myself.

"I would suppose so but since you are the first case of amnesia I had yet to face, I have no proof to support my claims." she says with a sad smile.

"Nah, we'll figure it out eventually."

As we finish our conversation, I hear the rumble of horses' hooves and I turn to see Sain and Kent coming to us.

"So?" I ask them as soon as they stop. "Anything good?"

Kent nods. "One of the people we asked told us he saw half a dozen bandits, maybe more, he wasn't sure. Also, we've been told that a piece of one of the external walls was cracked and in bad shape enough that someone could probably make it crumble with a bit of strengh." the red knight reports.

I nod. "Anything else?"

"Aside from the fact we're late because I had to drag Sain away from the lady he was talking to, that's all we got." Kent says, giving his companion an angry glare before looking at the bandit's corpse beside us. "I see that you have already delt with one of them."

"Yeah. He was on the look out and must have mistaken us for simple travelers." I reply, looking at the dead man.

After thinking for a short moment, I take a deep breath before turning back to my companions. "I will not lie to you, our options are limited. From one side: the front door, with probably two or three guards guarding it. On the other side: the damaged wall that we could break to make another entrance into the shrine. We have three choices." I say, liftng up one one finger as I finish. "First: to charge by the front door to break through them as fast as we can. But that means we'll be surrounded afterwards, which will obviously be bad." I lift another finger. "Second: we bring down the wall and take them by surprise. That is, assuming they don't hear us breaking it and don't regroup themselves to face us." I lift one last finger. "Third: we divide into two groups. One that will create a diversion at the main gate while the other breaks the wall, making them caught between the hammer and the anvil. However, that strategy will put a huge risk on the diversion team. If they cannot hold long enough or if the second team takes too much time breaking the wall, that will be the end of that." I look at each of them to be sure they listened to all I said before continuing. "Another problem is the matter of the priests. We do not know if they are held as hostages, if they managed to flee or if they are simply caged somewhere in the shrine. Worse case scenario, they're already dead. I know our objective is to both stop the bandits AND save the priests but we might not be able to save them all. There are just too few of us to give any guarantee of success. Morover, waiting for the milicia to come isn't a good idea either as we don't know what those men might do before they arrive." I let out a short sigh. "I'm sure you've realized that by now, but our best course of action, for both of our objectives, lies in the third option. As the tactician, I will be part of the diversion group. It will allow me to assess the situation clearly once we're inside and to coordonate our actions once the second group breaches the wall. It is your choice to agree or not with my plan. But I sure as hell won't stay there doing nothing. So if you have a better idea, say it now." I conclude our 'briefing' as I look at them.

After several seconds of silence, I smile. "Well, then. All that's left is to decide is who is gonna come with me to be part of the diversion."

"Hum... Are you a genius or a mad man?"

Surprisingly, the first person to react to all I just said is Sain. Even if his reaction itself is not surprising, I was expecting Kent or Lyn to react faster.

"I don't know. Maybe both." I reply to him with an annoyed look. "But that's not the point."

"I'll come with you."

I turn my gaze back to Lyn. While her speed will allow her to dodge and keep our foes' attention, I don't know if her stamina will last long enough. Also, she's not one to go on the defensive.

"Milady, I must protest." Kent steps in. "It is far too dangerous for you! Let me go in your stead."

True, the red knight would be a wise choice as well. He knows when he must attack and when he must defend. But, most of all, he knows how to keep his head cool in the midst of battle. But I fear for what might happen if we leave Lyn and Sain together. As for the green knight himself, I don't know how to handle him like Kent does.

I let out a sigh.

"Kent, I know this will be dangerous for your liege but i'm afraid this is the best choice. Besides, Lyn and I already fought side by side and i'm more familiar with her style than I am with yours, just as you are with Sain. But I swear on my life I will not let Lyn die on my watch." I reply, looking at him.

For a short moment, his gaze meets mine before he finally nods.

"Very well, Robin. I entrust you with the life of our lady. Keep her safe." the red knight says before turning to his companion. "Let's go, Sain. We have a wall to destroy. And the sooner the better."

This said, he turns his horse before riding in the direction of the shrine's wall.

"Ah! Wait for me!" The green knight shouts before following him.

I turn to Lyn. "We will have to hold our ground long enough for them to accomplish their task. But if you see an opening, go in for the kill. It will make our actions more credible. But try to not exhaust yourself. We will be fighting at one versus two, maybe three, so we must preserve our strengh."

She nods and I give her a smile.

"Let's do this." I say before dashing to the shrine's entrance.

As I expected, guards are standing by the big wooden doors. Two axemen, with the looks of men bored to death as they are leaning on their weapons.

The first one didn't even have the time to react, my sword piercing his limbs before he could even lift his axe. The second one, however, managed, by luck or thanks to his reflexes, I will never know, to block Lyn's blow.

"You fuckers!" he yells as he steps back into the shrine.

I guess that works to alert people.

As we also go inside I quickly look around to see five bandits, including the one we assaulted, dispersed across the place, eight pillars and, finally, the altar with the sacred sword embedded in it.

At least, it seems the priests are not here. That's a relief. We won't have to worry about their safety for the time beeing.

"How dare they interrupt the greatest moment of my life!"

I focus my gaze on another standing beside the altar taking up his sword from the ground.

"Kill them both!" he yells, pointing his weapon at us.

As soon as he says that, the five axemen start coming at us with their weapons raised. I get back-to-back with Lyn, gripping my sword with both hands.

"Now for the hard part..." I mutter so only her can hear me.

And for several minutes, it is a test of pure endurance, willpower and stamina that we must face. Dodging, deflecting, blocking and riposting are all we can do as we have no way to go on the offensive. It is a battle of attrition that does not bod in our favor.

"Hurry up, you guys..." I whisper as I block another axe blow before retaliating with a thrust of my blade, managing to leave a gash in his side. For a few seconds, there is a pause in the fighting as the axemen realize that they haven't been able to us loose ground.

Good. They are starting to doubt they can win this. Maybe we can tip the scales in our favor.

"What are you waiting for?!" yells the swordsman. "Kill them! Don't you see they are almost at their limit? Or is it that you are afraid?!"

I roll my eyes. There goes that plan.

"Now would be a good time, Kent." I whisper to myself.

And as if on cue, I hear a loud rumble and I see a part of the left wall collapsing to the ground. As the dust clears, I watch as the two mounted figures dash through the opening to charge right at us, swords in hand.

'About damn time!' I think with a smirk as I look back at my opoenent who is staring at the knight with his jaw dropped. Bad mistake. I strike and a headless body falls to the ground shortly after, a pool of blood forming quickly around it. Not wasting any time, I turn to the next axeman and jump at him, hoping to kill him before he can react. Unfortunately for me, he managed to get a hold of himself and just barely block my strike with his weapon.

But victory is already ours.

It's now four on four and their previous confidence disapeared when Kent and Sain joined the frey. It's only a matter of time until they run or fall to our blades. With a smile, I draw my sword back before thrusting it into the man's chest and he roars in pain before bringing down his axe in rage. I sidestep to the right before cutting his arm off and, in a spray of blood, the limb fly into the room, the axe still firmly gripped. I see the man looking at what's left of his left arm with surprise and shock before I drive my blade to through his heart, killing him on the spot.

"That's it." I say as I free my sword before swinging it in a fluid motion to get rid of the blood on it.

I turn around to see how things have evolved while I was fighting. Lyn is leaning on a pillar with her sword still in hand, exhausted, but alive and a dead axeman lying on his belly a few meters away. As for Sain and Kent, they're still fighting their opponent but I can see the outcome is already decided just by looking on their foes' face. Letting out a sigh of relief, I jog up to Lyn.

"You're alright?" I ask, knealing down to her level.

She nods. "Yes... Just... a bit... tired... after fighting... so long." she replies, still trying to catch her breath.

I nod back. "Rest for a moment. It will be over soon." I say before getting up and turning to the knights, only to see Kent standing in front of his dead opponent and Sain finishing his with a quick stab to the man's throat.

"Good work, you two." I say, walking to them. "You arrived just in time. It was beginning to be hard here."

Kent looks at me before bowing. "I'm sorry. The wall took us longer than I expected and I was afraid we wouldn't make it in time. So we had to take desperate measures."

I raise an eyebrow. "And that would be?" I ask him.

"Using our horses to bring it down faster." he answers me. "But we'll have to change the iron shoes. They've been quite damaged."

I nod. "Now, there's only on thing left to do." I state before turning my gaze to the swordsman.

"Aye. Let's finish this." the red knight replies as we start walking to the man.

"Who do you think you are?!" he yells at us. "What chance do you think you have against me?! I am Glass, the peerless swordsman and I will cut you down where you stand!"

"Wow, this guy's even louder than Sain. I didn't think it could be possible." I whisper to Kent and he chuckles at the statement.

With a sigh, I point my sword at Glass.

"I will only say it once. Drop your weapon now and we will spare your life. If you won't, prepare to die." I tell him.

"Right back at you asshole!" he shouts before readying his sword.

"So, be it." I say, gritting my teeth. "Sain! He's all yours!" I shout without looking at him.

"Wait!"

I turn around to see Lyn approaching us, sword in hand.

"It is MY duty as a Sacaen to bring down justice upon him. He stained the pride and traditions of my people and for this he shall pay!" she says as she walks past us.

I don't even bother to look at her as I know nothing will change her mind.

"If that is your wish." I say before stepping back.

"Hah! Now you are sending a woman to fight me?! What a joke!" Glass yells before charging at her.

At first glance, I would not have said that Glass had anything different from the other swordsmen we encountered yesterday but it seems I was wrong. The way he handles his sword isn't the one of a bandit, but of a trained soldier. He must be a deserter of one country or another's army.

Still, he is no match for Lyn.

Even though he is quite fast in his strikes, she is faster than him and all he can do is to block her strikes as they come one after the other. Little by little, I see the gashes begin to accumulate on Glass's body but I can also see that Lyn is near her limit, judging by her breath and the sweat on her forehead.

I glance at Kent and he returns my look before nodding and grabbing his lance.

'Better prevent than cure.' I think to myself before looking back at the fight just in time to see Glass trying a desperate my move by jumping in the air before slamming his blade down. My eyes widden and i'm about to give the signal to Kent when I see Lyn taking the same stance she used against Batta. As the sword comes at her, she disappears into a blur of blue and green, just as before, and I can see a look of pure surprise and shock on Glass's face. Once again, all I see are two flashes as the sword strikes the man in his chest before Lyn jumps back a few feets.

"You...! You...! Urgh... The... Manni... Katti... is mine..." Glass utters his final words before dropping his sword, then himself, on the ground.

I stay silent as I watch Lyn trying to regain her breathing. That foolish girl! Trying to use such a move in her already exhausted state could have made her pass out on the spot! But that's in the past. She's alive, he's dead. Period. So I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on her, even if that was very rash of her to do that.

Letting out my breath, I come closer to her.

"Don't move right now. Focus on breathing and try to slow it down progessively." I say to her and she looks at me with a surprised look.

"You're... not... going... to... scold me?" she asks between breaths.

I shake my head. "I guess reckless is just how you are. So i'll go along with it and just try to not let yourself get killed, I suppose." I answer with a small smile. "Though I would appreciate it if you would not do something like that if you're already exhausted."

"I'll... keep that... in mind..." she replies and I roll my eyes.

"Right. I'll remind you that the next time you put yourself in danger like that." I scoff.

"Is it over? Are they finally gone?"

An unknow voice makes my heard turn around and I see the priests coming from what seems to be a secret passage of some sort.

"Yes. The fighting is over. You are safe now." Kent replies to them.

"Is the Mani Kati safe?" says another voice, much older than the previous one. I look as I see the priests stepping away to let an old man come forward.

"Yes." I answer and he let out a sigh of relief.

"That's good, then." he turns to his disciples. "Give these men a descent burial. They shall have a proper tomb, at least."

"Yes, father!" the priests answer in unisson before going to take care of their tasks.

The head priest turns back to us. "You have my deepest thanks, honorable warriors. I do not know what could have happened if you didn't come to our help." he looks at Lyn. "Ah, your clothing... Are you of the Lorca tribe?"

"I am. My name is Lyn and I am the chieftain's daughter." she answers. "I am glad we were able to arrive before they could steal the sword or harm you, sir."

"I sealed the sword with a spell, but I feared it wasn't enough. As for myself, you needn't worry about me, child. As you can see, me and my disciples are unscathed. Now, as a token of my gratitude, I shall allow you to lay hands upon the Mani Katti. Touch the blade's patern, and pray for a safe journey." the head priest tells her before presenting her the sacred blade.

"Thank you so much! It would be my honor." Lyn says with joy in her voice as she approaches the sword.

Then, as she touches it, there's a flash.

"Hn?"

"What? Did-"

Then, it starts to glow in a radiant blue aura, shocking everyone inside the shrine. I can hear the other priests whispering between them as they cannot believe what they're seeing. Truth to be told, neither do I.

"The sword... It's glowing." whispers Lyn.

"Ah... It's the power of the blade's spritis." the priest say. "Lyn, they have looked into your soul and have found you worthy. They call out to you."

"What? Does that mean..." she says with a look of disbelief on her face

"You are its rightful owner. You are to wield the Mani Katti." the old man clarifies.

If Lyn could look even more shocked than she was now, I can't even imagine what she would look like.

"No... I can't... I couldn't..." she tries to refute that claim.

"It is the sword's wish. If you require proof, draw it from its sheath."

I see Lyn gulp as she takes the sword and draw it slowly. I'm surprised as I see that its edge doesn't seem dull at all, after all this time it was enshrined without anyone to clean or sharpen it. Trully, that blade is something special, I can feel it.

"It came out... effortlessly." she says, atonished.

"Ah..." the priest sighs with content. "I never dared to hope that I might meet the wielder of the Mani Katti in my life." he nods. "I am indeed fortunate to see your sword reach your hands."

"My... sword?"

The priest takes the sword from her to replace it into its sheath before giving it back to her.

"It is time for you to go, Lyn." he says as she takes the sword into her hands once more. "You will face a great deal of orddeals. So grip this sword and meet your destiny head on."

"_We're not pawns of some scripted fate. I believe we're more. Much more..."_

"Yes..." Lyn whispers before resolve find it's place into her eyes once more. "Yes, sir!"

As we bid our farewell, I cannot restrain myself to ask the head priest for how long the Mani Katti has been into this shrine.

"I believe it has been since the last great war. More than a millenia, at least." he answers me.

Trully a wonder how can a weapon last that long without beeing eroded by time. I would have liked to meet the one who forged such a weapon. I think to myself as I rejoin our group.

"So..." Sain starts, looking at the new sword at Lyn's side. "This is the Mani Katti... A blade with no equal."

No equal, I am not sure, but definitely one of the finest.

"This is all so unbelievable." the owner of the sword replies while shaking her head. "Perhaps the most famous sword in all Sacae... in my hand."

"It's not so strange." Kent states. "In fact, many legends tell similar tales... Special blades all over the land calling out to their rightful owners." he smiles. "And yet, when I saw you draw that blade, Lyndis... I felt something extraordinary. That sword was waiting for you. You were MEANT to draw it."

I see Lyn blush as she raises her hands in protest. "Stop it! I... I'm nothing special!"

"Says the girl who managed to beat a swordsman stronger than the ones we faced before while beeing exhausted after fighting against five men for several minutes..." I say, looking away with a smile on my face.

"Robin! Not you too!" she exclaims while blushing even more.

"Think of it this way: Some weapons feel more comfortable in your hand, right?" Sain begins and she nods. "Well, the Mani Katti itself feels very comfortable with you in this case. Does that make it any easier to accept?"

"I... guess so..." she mutters, looking down.

"Besides, it don't think that either of us can use it." the green knight finishes.

"_What do you mean I coul not use it even if I wanted to?"_

"_To wield this blade means you must be of the Exalt bloodline, my friend. And it is not my own decision. Only my ancestors has been able to wield it, and even so, if the blade do not deem you worthy of it, its edge will stay dull and won't be able to cut even paper."_

"And I don't believe any of us would take their chance anyway when the blade has judged YOU worthy, milady." Kent agrees with his companion.

"It... does feel right in my hand. A blade that only I can wield." Lyn muses. "That seems reasonable enough. I can understand that."

"It's up to you if you want to use it or not." I say to her. "If your pride and you yourself think you are not ready, or not worthy, to wield it, you can still use normal swords until you believe you are. It IS your sword, after all. What you want to do with it is your choice."

'Though it would be a shame not to use it', I add to myself.

"Yes. This is my sword." she replies with a smile. "I must care for it well."

"You do that." I say, patting her shoulder. "Now, I think we should get going. There is still time before it gets dark so I suggest we move while we still can."

And with a general nod from everyone else, we begin (again) our journey to Caelin. Still, I wonder what sort of trouble we will get ourselves into. I mean, it has not been one day since we left Bulgar and we already managed to save a shrine form bandits and a sacred sword decided that one of us was its rightful owner. That's quite an escalation, if you want my opinion. So I can't help but wonder at what will happen next. But it seems we're drawn to get into trouble.

-Scene Change-

? POV

"So." I say, trying to process all what this strange person drapped in a robe just told me. "You are telling me that you come from the future?"

He nods.

"And that you are here to kill this 'Robin' so that it will allow you to return to your world?"

Again, he nods.

"And that to accomplish this, you require my assistance?"

For the third time, he nods again. "Right now, I have neither the power nor the ressources I need for this task. So I figured I would ask for you to help me slaughter this wretched tactician." the stranger finally answers.

I sneer at that. "I don't see why I should help you. There is nothing you can offer me in compensation for the time and men I would lend you."

For a second, I see a saidistic smile cross the hooded face. "I know what you are trying to do. And you are wrong in thinking I have nothing to offer. Why would I be here otherwise?"

Shock passes on my face before I frown. "And what would that be?"

The smile grows wider. "I can offer you the power and quintescence you desire."

My eyes grow wide at this statement. How does he know? There is no way he could-

"I have my methods. And when I get my powers back, I will offer you an army worthy of your ambitions. The only thing I want in return is for you to find and kill that guy." he continues.

I think for a moment. This guy is certainely no ordinary human to have managed to find me in the first place but know he says he knows about my plans and can help with it. All for one man to be killed. I grin.

"You picked up my interest, stranger. We have an agreement. But I don't think I catched your name?"

The figure let out a short laugh. "You may call me Grima, Nergal."

**Like it? Hate it? Review! It makes my day.**

**This chapter took quite a long time to make as I had to put a lot of more things than I intended to but I managed to do it in time, I hope.**

**Next chapter should be posted next week, sooner than this one, with some luck and imagination.**

**As always, i'm open to suggestions and advices.**

**This is MidnightFenrir, author of "Child of the Fell and Divine dragons", signing out.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, this is MidnightFenrir speaking. Sorry for the late update but I had some... troubles to take care of. But let's not dwell on that.**

**I don't really have that much to say about this chapter beside that it was really long to do. But I will tell you something that some people have asked me about: YES, Robin will use magic at some point, I just ask you to be patient about it.**

**Again, I thank you for reading my story and please review! I love to have feedback, be it flame or praise.**

"What?" **= dialogue**

"_What?" _**flashback**

"**_What?"=_ telepathy**

**As always, enjoy!**

-Robin's POV-

"Come on! Why is it that I can't even hit you?!"

I pinch my nose bridge as Sain complains for the umpteen time since we have begun our sparring session.

"If you were working a bit more on technique rather than just speed and power, maybe you could land a hit." I answer him with an irritated tone.

"And if YOU were going a bit on the offensive, for once, instead of simply dodging?" he replies with an angry tone.

I grin.

"Why, sir knight, I would be delighted to teach you the meaning of a good combination between power, speed and technique." I say with a mocking voice while taking up my stance one more.

My expression becomes serious and I tighten my grip on my wooden sword as he also takes his stance.

"Here I come!" I shout before jumping forward in an estoc.

I see that he wants to humor me the same way I did to him because he dodges my strike with a sidestep to the left. But that's a mistake. In a quick motion, I switch my center of gravity to my left leg before turning in a horizontal attack that he is forced to block with his blade. But I don't stop here as I spin clockwise, this time bringing my sword up in a vertical strike. His face has a look of surprise and he doesn't have the time to ajust his footing as he blocks my attack one again, but desperately this time.

"Checkmate." I whisper as I continue my spin to end up in his back before giving him a quick stab between his shoulder blades.

"Ouch!" he cries before falling face first into the ground.

"There." I say , resting my sword on my shoulder. "Power, speed AND technique." I sum up what I just did.

I hear him grumbling something as he stands up, dusting his clothes.

"What was that?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"If I was on my horse, you wouldn't stand a chance." he answers, groaning.

"But that's the whole point of this training, Sain." I reply, lifting a finger into the air. "This is to teach you how to fight better without your horse. I know that will not happen often but it's for the best. Besides, if you are brought down of your horse in a fight, you'll have to be able to fend off your foes by yourself before you can go back up on it. And I know you are skilled enough with a lance for that, but not with a sword. And I'm sure you noticed how our ennemies seem to LOVE axes."

"Right..." he says, rolling his eyes. "But why aren't you training with Kent?" he asks.

"Because he is almost as skilled with a sword as you are with a lance." I answers him.

"Fine. But why can't I train with Lady Lyndis?" he says with a small pout.

Now it's me who's rolling my eyes.

"For two obvious reasons, Sain. First because you would spend most of your time flirting or not listening to her because you would watch her and second because she's training with Kent. Who is, I might add, quite the diligent student."

"But how come is it you, our tactician, that is training me?! Shouldn't you study strategy books rather than training in physical combat? And how in the blazes are you better than me?!"

"_...You are a strange one. Strategist or soldier—most men make their choice and don't look back."_

"_Then I choose to be the first man to pick both. I want to keep my friends safe and everyone else, too. So when my sword won't reach, I'll protect them with my tactics." _

I pinch the bridge of my nose again, though for a different reason this time. Gods, why am I only remembering such little quotes and no events of my past? All those voices... They're familiar to me but I just can't remember to whom they belong.

"As for your first two questions, I will answer you with this: They best way to assess a situation is to be in it. To truly grasp the knowledge of what's happening in a battle, I must be a part of the battle. And for that, I need to be able to defend myself. Besides, I can protect my companions both with a sword and with my knowledge like this. And as for your last question, I will simply say that they are aspects that I'm better with in combat that you are simply because I'm also using my mind in battle, not only my muscles." I say as I look at him. "And before you ask me 'why am I not training with Kent?' it's because you both know each others' style too much and a change of sparing partner was the most welcomed in my opinion."

"Still, that doesn't explain how is an amnesic man able to beat me, a knight who has trained for years at the castle..." Sain mutters.

"Maybe if you were putting all the time and energy you spend in going after women into your training, you would be better!" I hear Kent shouting behind us. "I swear! If you were as passionate in your training as you are with the ladies, you would be commander by now!"

"And burried in paperwork?! No thanks!" Sain shouts back and I start laughing.

It has been almost a week since we departed from the shrine of the Mani Katti and I must say I was surprised that there was no trouble waiting for us at every corner of the road. But, as one is never too careful, we decided to throw in some sparing sessions between us once every day since yesterday to learn what the others' good and bad points are and, of course, work to get better as we know we will face ennemies at one point.

But still, a few days without having to risk your life sure did feel good.

"By the way, Robin. How come is it that you have such a good stance while it's totally unfamiliar to me?" Kent asks as he approaches us. "I know a lot about the stances they teach you in the different armies over this land and ,while I know that everybody develop their own stance with time, yours bears no ressemblance whatsoever with any of them. Yet, it is a formidable stance, so i'm curious."

"_Your grip, stance and breathing are wrong. Focus, Robin... Again!"_

"_Ready!"_

I shiver for an unknown reason.

"Hum... I have a feeling that tells me I learned it the hard way. But as for who teached it to me, I do no know." I answer

"I see..." the red knight says, bringing his hand to his chin in a thinking motion. "Then what about your fighting style? While I can see Lyndis's stance and style are clearly inherited from the nomads' and myrmidon's way of fighting, I have trouble figuring out yours. Your movement are a bit like those of a myrmidon too but there's something else. While they use quick movements and speed to confuse their oponents, you do little, but quick nonetheless, movements and yet your strikes have quite some strengh into them."

As he finishes his statement, I laugh again.

"You have done your homework, I see, honor student Kent. But I'll tell you once again: it is some sort of instinct, of second nature, that takes over me in battle So I can't tell you anything about it."

"Still, I wonder where in the blazes did you learn to fight like that..." the red knight mutters under his breath.

"I second that." Lyn says as she joins the conversation. "And it seems you are getting better every day. I guess the more you fight and train, the more your body remembers what it was teached."

"You might be right. But it still feels weird." I reply with a smile. "By the way, Lyn. That technique of yours that you used to defeat Batta and Glass, what is it exactly? It's as if you get a sudden surge of power that last for a short moment and allow you to do superhuman things."

The two knights beside me nod as their gazes turn to her.

"H-hey! Don't look at me like that. It's not as if I was hiding it." she says, blushing a bit. "As for my 'technique', it's called the Moonshadow. And before you ask me if you could learn it, i'm afraid to say that this technique, along with my fighting style, were developped for women. Of course, men can always learn it but it's more efficient for a woman rather than a man. And the Moonshadow just cannot be used by men. First because they would have to work on their speed to get to that level and second because their muscle mass would hinder them too much to perform such movements." she explains to us.

We nod.

"And even if you could attain such a level, it would take you take months, maybe years, before you could master both the style and the technique. I've started learning since I was ten and even though I can use the Moonshadow, I'm far from beeing a master." she finishes with her head a bit down.

"Don't worry about it, Lyn." I say with a smile. "I'm sure you will achieve such a level one day. As for the styles and technique, I would say that, even if something like the Moonshadow is pretty cool and impressive, it's better if everyone could find the style that suits them the most or create one themselves. Besides, as Kent putted it, everyone has his own style, in a way."

She smiles as she gives me a look of approval and I turn to face the two knights

"I think that's enough for today, won't you agree? We've been at it for two hours so I say we take a break for lunch before moving again."

After a nod from everyone, I started gather firewood along with what was going to become our lunch. As weird as it sounds, it seems like I am the best cook choice out of the four of us so I'm charged with cooking for everyone. But still... I know I couldn't have expected a lot coming from Sain but I would have hoped that Kent, at least, was a good cook.

How wrong I was...

And while Lyn's good enough, it appears she isn't familiar with other food than what she was eating in the plains. So, that leaves me, who isn't particularly good but can cook a bunch of different things.

I'm glad I noticed I had a cooking book in all my bag three days ago but why 'cooking for dummies'?

"_Gah! The fish! You're burning it!"_

"_And yer stew is boilin' over!"_

In fact, never mind. I don't think I want to know -or remember-, for what that matters.

But I think they would kill me if I told them I was improvising almost everytime and noting the results afterward so I could do it again, if not improve it...

Once I finish my set up, I start cooking one of the meal that had the most success out of everything I experim- I mean- made so far: fried meat and vegetables with rice. Carrots, meat and potatoes bathed in a bit of water mixed with the meat's juice while I cook the rice separatly from the rest. In other words: easy to do, very sustaining and doesn't take long to prepare. Just what we need.

"Hey, Robin, look what I found."

I turn my head to see Sain brandishing a -still fresh- dead hare in front of my nose with a big hole on its left side.

I blink. "...Did you just-"

"Hunt it? Yeah!" the green knight cuts me off. "It was coming from the woods and didn't see me. So I took my chance at throwing my lance and ta-dah! Fresh meat on the menu!" he tells me with a big grin all over his face.

I shake my head with a sigh. "Look, Sain, I think it's great you managed to catch it but there is a problem." I say and he looks at me with a confused look. "The fact is that I already started cooking our meal, so we can't carve this hare and add more meat that would not be cooked at the same time as the rest and that we're not sure we would even eat. Also, we have no way of salvaging and dry it for later. If you had come sooner, it would have been possible to eat fresh meat. But now..."

"So you're telling me this is going to WASTE?" he asks with a look of shock and disappointement.

"I'm afraid so..." I reply quitely.

"Aaaw... What a shame..." he says with his head down as he begins to bring his arm back to throw the poor dead-for-nothing animal into the woods, where it will probably make the joy of a fox or a wolf.

"Wait! I said wait, damnit!" we hear a feminine voice shout behind us.

Turning once more, I look up to see Lyn running at us before stopping to catch her breath at our side.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she shouts again, snatching the hare from Sain's hand. "Father Sky and Mother Earth, how could you even think of throwing it away?! We don't have the mean to dry it for a long journey but that doesn't prevent us to keep it for tonight's dinner!" she finishes with a sigh. "And for your information, I'm more than able to scarve animals. It wasn't a rare thing for me to go hunting on the plains, back there."

I run a hand on my face, kicking myself mentally. How could I forget she is a Sacaean before beeing the granddaughter of a marquess? A title shouldn't change my view of someone to the point that I can forget where she spent all her life and what lifestyle she had.

"It's all yours, Lyn." I reply while shaking my head over my stupidity.

Then, I see her draw a knife from her tunic and she starts to carve the hare in front of me like nothing. I quickly turn my head to the side, not wanting to see the insides of the poor beast -and loosing my appetite in the process- and try to focus on the meal.

After a few minutes -and disturbing sounds coming from behind me- I shout to everyone that food is ready and in less than thirty seconds, I am facing three people with expecting looks on their faces and plates in their hands. I chuckle before giving everyone their share of food, as we don't want leftovers, and we all eat with joy since our little training session made us pretty much hungry.

"I don't think I would ever grow tired of eating this all day and night!" Sain says between bites and we all laugh at his antics.

After finishing our meal and quicly washing our plates, we set off again and I soon see a village a little farther near the mountains.

"Look. It seems we won't sleep on the ground tonight." I say with a smile, as I point the habitations, and my words are greeted with a cheer from Sain and two smiles from Kent and Lyn.

But as we come closer to the village, my smile is replaced by a frown as I see several destroyed and burnt houses. When we finally enter into the village, the light feeling we had about finally resting in town for once is replaced by tension and uncomfortable silence.

"This place... It's..." Lyn says quietly.

"The entire area is in ruins. Why doesn't their marquess do anything to help?" Sain asks with his jaws clenched.

"Taliver Mountain is home to a gang of vicious, ruthless bandits. No marquess holds power here." Lyn spats with an angry tone.

The Taliver bandits, huh? The one who killed her family... I guess it's only logical that she takes this harder than the other.

"My village was near here, on the other side of the mountain." she continues. "And my people were... The bandits came at night. It only took ONE night." she says as her voice drops progessively. "And then, in the sudden morning, we are less than ten people alive in the whole village."

I listen silently as I see her hands bawling into fists and her head drop in anger.

"They're soulless beasts." she spats. "I won't forgive them. Never."

"Lyndis..." Sain says quietly, looking at her with a pitying look while Sain stays silent, as if he was processing the information into his mind so that he wouldn't forget about it.

"But I'm not running away." Lyn says, looking at us with fire in her eyes. "I will be back... Someday. I'll be stronger... Strong enough to break their swords beneath me like twigs beneath a stallion's hooves." she continues, looking at her right fist. "I'll avenge my people. I'll do anything in my power for this."

Again, with the revenge.

But, hopefully, that day is far. Far enough that it will give her time to change her mind or find something better worth the time and energy she'd spend on something like that. It is her right to ask justice for her parents' death but still... I just hope that it will not stay her lead motive to get stronger.

Strengh to only destroy, only to kill, will make you the same as those bandits you hate so much.

I wish she will understand that soon enough.

"When the time comes, bring me with you." I hear Sain say behind me.

Sain... I know you said that because you want to protect Lyn but, gods damn it, you don't need to encourage her in this path.

"Sain..."

"Don't forget me either" Kent says, stepping forward.

Not you too, Kent...

"Kent..."

I guess this is the moment I also give my opinion, huh?

"Did you forget our deal, Lyn? You are my peerless warrior and I am your master strategist. We are two halves of a whole. There's no way I'm letting you do this alone."

'At least, I'll be able to prevent you from doing something you'd regret and becoming someone you aren't' I add to myself.

"_We promised to be two halves of a greater whole. I trust Robin with my life. As he trusts me with his."_

"Oh! You too, Robin?" Lyn, says, a bit surprised, before looking at us with a warm smile and watery eyes. "I... You're... Thank you. Thank you so much..." she stutters as she wipes her eyes.

I smile before tensing suddenly as I heard a strange sound.

"What was that?" I wonder out loud as I turn to look around us.

"Huh?" I hear everyone say as they look at me.

"Did you hear that?" I reply, focusing on my hearing.

They fall silent as they listen to what I heard and soon, I hear that sound again.

What could it be? It feels strangely familiar too.

This time, I hear it clearly.

*Flap*

I snap my head up to see a winged horse and it's rider coming right at us from the skies.

"What the..." I begin before jumping out of the beast's landing spot with a yelp. I only have the time to stand up as a figure with long pink hair dashes past me.

"Lyn!"

"Florina?" I hear the plainswoman reply.

Turning around, I see a young woman jumping into Lyn's arms with a cry of joy while said person had a surprised look on her face.

"What are you doing in a place such as this?" she asks as she embraces the pink haired girl.

"It really IS you!" she says while looking up with watery ayes. "I... I..."

"Come now, no crying!" Lyn cuts her off with a frown.

"I'm sorry." the other girl replies, wipping her eyes.

"You are aquintances?" I hear Kent say as he approaches.

"Thank you, captain obvious." I whisper to Sain and he let out a short laugh.

"She's a friend of mine." Lyn answers the red knight's question before turning to face all of us. "Everyone, this is Florina, a pegasus knight in training from Ilia. She's a little uncomfortable around men." she finishes while giving Sain a look as if to say 'got it?'.

Strangely, I find myself approaching the pegasus, who seems to be as nervous as her master, before stroking it's neck gently.

"Hush, girl... I'm not gonna hurt you..." I whisper as I continue to stroke her mane and soon the winged horse puts her head against me, closing it's eyes in bliss.

"_Wow, how do you guys do that? That's incredible!"_

"_I don't know. I guess Robin and I just have a way with animals."_

"_More like YOU have a way with pegasus more than any other animal."_

"Wait right there, little lady!" a rude voice brings me back to reality and I turn around to see two men running torward us and I can guess at first sight that they bot are bandits. Their clothes, their attitude, their face, their weapons (two axes, strangely), ect... Everything about them scream 'I am a rufian and a scoundrel!'.

The two men slow down as they come near us before one of them, a middle aged with brown hair tied with a red headband, points his weapon toward the pink haired girl.

"What are you gonna do to appologize? Huh?" he says with an arrogant tone.

Raizing a quizzical eyebrow, I look at Florina and back to him. What does he mean by 'appologize'?

"Uh... I... That is, I..." I almost want to roll my eyes at Florina's attempt to answer. I guess she really is shy around men.

"Hey, what do you say she comes with us?" I hear the other guy, a younger light brown haired, say. "Don't you think she's quite a catch, buddy?"

"Yeah." the first one replies with a grin. "She roughed me up a bit, so I figure fair's fair. It's no more'n she deserves."

"What do you mean it's no more than she deserves?"

I turn to see Lyn stepping forward with a no-nonsense expression, Florina behind her.

"What happened here?" I ask the pink-haired girl while i'm still petting her mount.

"Well... Um..." she hesitate a bit before taking a breath. "When I heard that Lyn had left... I decided to follow her. Then I saw this village and I flew down to ask if they had news of her... I didn't see those two, and... well..." she stutters again.

"Did your pegasus land on them?" Lyn asks her and I raise an eyebrow at that question, asking a silent 'are you serious?'.

"Well, I... A little..." the shy girl replies.

That's it. I let my hand fly to my forehead with a groan before turning to the older bandit. Indeed, I can see a little bump on his head, where the hooves of the pegasus must have striked him.

"Aha! You heard her! She admits her fault!" the second bandit shouts in triumph, as if he just gained a huge sack of gold. "She stepped on my friend and now she has to pay!"

"Did you apologize, Florina?" Lyn asks as her friend covers in fear behind her.

"Yes. I told them I was sorry many times over." Florina replies weakly. "They just wouldn't listen..." she finishes with watery eyes.

"Don't cry. It's all right." Lyn conforts her.

"Lyn..."

I can't help but imagine a mother patting her child on the head to make her stop crying. Or a big sister trying to calm her younger sibling.

"Listen, she's obviously sorry. Can't we just let this pass?" Lyn asks the man as she turns to him. "You don't appear to be trully injured or anything."

If you thinks they're gonna back down, you can always dream, Lyn.

As if to proove my thinking, the first bandit comes forward with an angry face.

"No chance. The girl goes with us- by force if need be!" he shouts.

"Now, now." I begin as I take a step toward him. "Do you really think you can take on four-scratch that- five of us with only the two of you? I suggest you stop uttering nonsense and quietly back down before we decide to make you regret crossing paths with us."

As I see the man smirk evilly at me, I wonder if I should have rather let Lyn handle it.

"Then you're goin' down!" he shouts before jumping on a small wall. "Hey! C'mon out now, boys! The men are fair game but don't put a scratch on the girls!" he yells and in a matter of seconds, I see close to a dozen of men coming out of the ruins as they start to run at us.

Of course he had to have companions. Why couldn't I keep my damn mouth shut?

"Robin! We've got to fight back!" Lyn urges me as she draws her sword.

Quickly looking around, I realize that if we don't move quickly, we will be surrounded in a matter of minutes. But before that, I must assess the ennemy forces. So I climb a wall and take a peek at what's waiting for us before quicly jumping down with a curse.

"Stand back!" I shout at everyone before signaling them to scatter with a wave of my arm. "We have archers coming our way! Take cover behind the walls!"

I hear Swain swear under his breath as he makes his steed wolt around before taking cover as I ordered. Kent's eyes narrow as I see him grimacing before he decides to move and I turn to the young pegasus knight to see her talking with Lyn.

"Lyn... I..." she begins but Lyn cuts her short.

"You're a pegasus knight, aren't you? You can fight, can't you?" she asks her friend with a determined smile and I watch with awe as I see Florina looking up with fire in her eyes.

Lyn sure knows how to lead people. She's a natural born leader.

"...Yes!" the pink-haired girl replies as she turn her hands into fists and I choose this moment to speak up.

"Miss Florina, I will ask you to take extra-caution in what you will do. Archers are deadly for your mount and I wouldn't want you to fall to your death on us." I tell her before putting two fingers to my mouth to let out a sharp whistle. And a few seconds later, her pegasus come at us trotting.

Florina looks at me with eyes and mouth agape as she looks between her mount and me.

"How... How did you do that?" she asks, troubled and I realize what I just did.

I managed to call a pegasus like it was a second nature to me. How the hell did I do that was, indeed, a good question. But more importantly was how did I KNOW to do that in the first place?

"_She seems to have taken quite a liking to you."_

"_You think? I don't know. Sometimes, I wonder if she really listen to me."_

"_Haha! It's true she's a little carefree, but you should know better than anyone how serious she can be on the battlefield. That's why you chose her for me, didn't you?"_

"_Heh. Gilty as charged."_

I put my hand on my face as the pain gripps my head.

"Again..." I mutter under my breath.

It looks like my past just won't let me in peace, even during battle.

Shaking my head, I turn back to Florina. "We'll talk about this later! Now is not the time to talk!"

She snaps out of her surprise and quicly jump on her pegasus before going after Lyn and the others and I follow closely before putting myself against a wall.

"Listen carefully, everyone!" I shout to grab their attention. "We're facing bandits. They're underlings, but we can't take tham too lightly! We must clear them out of here. The archers are our main priority!" I look at them to see their nods. "Futhermore, the layout around here will make it difficult to fight. But that goes for both us and our foes! Use the walls, they may just ensure our victory. Try to take them down one by one so they can't get cover from their companions!"

They all nod once again.

"Now, while I go warn the villagers, I want Sain, Kent and Lyn to go ahead and clear the path. You shouldn't have a lot of problem as the walls will cover you far enough to allow you to strike down any archer that might hide behind them before he could target you." the three give me another nod and I turn to the pegasus knight.

"Miss Florina, I know i'm already asking a lot out of you but I want you to scout the area ahead of the villagers' residences. I'll join you shortly after to aid you in dispatching the ennemies." I see her looking at Lyn once before nodding at me too.

Turning back to the rest of us, I give everyone a nod of my own.

"Good. When you are done with your task, I want you to advance as quickly as possible to meet around the walls. Staying divided too long will only turn against us. Now, are you ready?!" They all respound to me with a sharp 'Yes!' (exept Florina, who only nods again).

"Then let's go!" I shout as I begin to jog toward the non-damaged houses and I can hear the horses' hooves hitting the ground behind me, followed by the flapping sound of the pegasus's wings before I see the winged horse and it's rider taking flight slightly above me.

I know Lyn and the knights shouldn't have any trouble in their task, so i'm more worried about Florina. I hope she won't have to face too much trouble.

I can already hear the sounds of battle as I approach the houses, hoping I didn't make a mistake in my decisions.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" I ask loudly while I walk between the houses and at first, I think they're empty before a voice answers my question.

"Leave us alone, you thugs!" I hear a man's voice shouting at me, though I can't see him.

"Go away! Go away! We've no more gold for you!" another voice shouts.

"No, wait! Please! I'm not a bandit!" I shout back, hoping they will at least listen to me. "My friends and I are here to dispatch them. Please listen!

Well, at least they already know about the bandits. But warning them became a waste of time. I though about it but still...

"Remain inside everyone" I hear a third voice reply.

Great. They won't even listen to me.

"I'll go see what's happening." the voice continues.

Seems like I assumed things a little too fast.

I let out a sigh of relief as I see a door on the left opening... Before freezing on the spot at the sight of a young man with a bow and an arrow pointed at me as he comes forward. I quickly put my hands in front of me to indicate that I mean no harm.

"Not bandits, huh? Then who are you?" he asks me and I swallow nervously.

"My name is Robin, a tactician. My colleagues and I are just traveling through here." I reply, lowering my hands. " We encountered some bandits. We're going to deal with them but..." I shrug. "I wanted to warn the villagers first. But now I see this wasn't necessary." I finish before turning away.

"Hey! Wait!" I hear the young man reply and I turn my head as he comes near me.

"The name's Wil. I'm a traveler of sorts, too." he says. "Those villagers have been kind to me. Mind if I fight with you?"

Now THAT was unexpected.

"Not at all!" I reply with enthusiasm. "We need all the help we can get! And we could use an archer. Welcome aboard, Wil!" I say as I present him my open hand, which he shakes firmly. "Now, we have no time to loose. One of my comrades is out there and we have to get to her before she gets into trouble."

He nods. "All right." he says before turning back to the houses. "Everyone! I'm going to deal with the bandits along with this guy and his friends! Do not come out of your houses until I come back!" He turns back to me. "Lead the way, tactician."

I nod back and start jogging to Florina and I's meeting point, Wil following closely behind, and soon enough I can hear the sounds of fighting again along with the neigh of a horse close by.

"Damnit!" I curse loudly. "Let's hurry! It seems like she's already in combat!" I shout to will and I run faster.

As we come past the walls, I see Florina fighting a swordsman with some difficulty. While she has the advantage with her lance, it seems her opponent is swift enough to dodge the fatals blows.

Sharply, I point my arm at the swordsman and Wil quickly understands what I want him to do as he draws back the string of his bow and lets an arrow lose at the man. As he didn't see it coming, the arrow hits the bandit straight in the back, leaving him wide open as he gasps in pain for Florina to stab him in the chest.

I run to her as she frees her weapon from the man's corpse.

"Miss Florina! I'm sorry I'm late! Are you hurt?" I ask as I come near.

She flinches before looking at me and she lets out a sigh of relief as she recognize me.

"Y-yes, sir Robin. I'm f-fine... And p-please, call me Florina..." she replies weakly.

I quickly look at her to make sure she's not seriously hurt. Beside some light cuts on her light armor and on her pegasus, she seems uninjured.

"All right, Florina." I say as I turn back to the path. "We must proceed quickly now. Else, Lyn and the others are gonna have trouble with the rest of them."

Florina nods back weakly and she looks behind me before widdening her eyes in fear.

"Aaaaah!" she lets out a high pitched scream that makes my ears ring. "An archer! There's an archer! What should I do?! Sir Robin! There's an archer behind you!"

I spin around to look behind me. "What? Where?!" I shout as I look around... only to see Wil looking at us with a surprised look and a raised eyebrow before he looks at his bow.

I let my hand fly to my forehead. Of course. I knew she would be afraid of archers but not to this extend. But I guess I also should have precised that we had a new ally.

"Oh, yeah. That's Wil." I flatly state. "He's with us. Wil, meet Florina, pegasus knight of Ilia. Florina, meet Wil, traveling archer. Don't be scared, he's here to help."

"Hi." The archer greets the young woman. "You're one of Robin's friends?"

"Um... … ..." she doesn't answer his question.

Florina seems less frightened now but I can see she's still scared of him. Gods! This is akward.

"What... What is it? Are you unwell?" Wil asks her, concerned about her behavior.

As Florina stays silent, I let out a sigh.

"Sorry, Wil. She's timid around men, and you... you've got a bow." I try to explain.

'In short, you're twice as worse' I add mentally.

"Oh! I see!" He exclaims as realization dawns on him. "I apologize for frightening you, but I do understand your fear of bows."

The only ones who DON'T fear bows are the archers themselves... Who else doesn't fear the death threat of arrows? Oh yeah. I forgot about armoured knights. But that's not the time to think about that!

"I... Um... I'm sorry..." Florina replies weakly. "Even looking... at a... bow... frightens me ever so much..."

And with reason, you poor girl.

"Of course, I understand." Wil nods "But you should only fear the ennemy's archers. Not your own."

'Oh? And what about stray arrows, smart guy?' I suppress my urge to reply by bitting my tongue.

"Yes... Of course..."

I roll my eyes. "Okay, now that this is over, let's go! We've lost enough time already!" I shout as I begin to run again and I can hear the two following me.

As we come around the courner, I realize that we managed to get here in the nick of time as I see Lyn, Kent and Sain beeing assaulted by six men, four axemen and two swordsmen, supported by two archers who are letting arrows fly at my friends.

I point at the two archers. "Wil, Florina. I want you to take out those archers as fast as possible before they can deal too much damage to us. When you are done with them, I want you, Wil, to target the bandits who are staying together. Florina, you will strike isolated or fleeing targets, priorizing the swordsmen." I explain to them my plan.

"What about you?" the archer asks.

"Me?" I reply with a smile, looking at him. "I'll go straight to the aid of our comrades. Now let's get moving!"

Drawing my sword, I start into a sprint to join the fray. Behind me, I hear the flap of wings and the whistle of an arrow, followed quickly by a howl of pain.

As I draw near the circle of bandits surrounding Lyn and the knights, I realize that if we don't break that circle, things will go bad. Futhermore, I can see that both Kent and Sain are already injured, while Lyn has a hole into her left side, where an arrow must have hitted her.

"Kent, Sain! You must charge through them! Break their circle and divide them to make the fight more even!" I shout at them and I see the whole group of fighters turning to me. "Lyn! Cut a path to me! I'll cover you once you've joined me!" I finish as I thighten my grip on my sword.

Sure enough, less than a second later, I hear the two knights let out a war cry as they rear they horses before going into a wild charge, forcing their foes to split up and killing one of them in their run. That makes two group of bandits left. One of two and one of three.

"Now! Lyn go to your left! Knights, dispatch the ennemies on your right flank!" I yell as I come in striking distance of the two axemen.

"Haaaaah!" With a war cry of my own I let out a horizontal slash at the bandits with the intent of striking them both and while one managed to shake himself from his surprise in time to dodge my assault, the other didn't and gained a nice gash across his torso. As he stumble back, shock -and now pain- still written on his face, I gripp my sword in a two handed pose before jumping for a jump -vertical- strike.

"Take this!" I shout as I bring down my blade upon him, effectively cutting him from his shoulder down to his solar plexus. I don't even need to wonder if the man is still alive as I know this injury is fatal anyway.

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of forgetting about the other bandit and i'm sorely reminded of his presence as he rams into me before I had any chance to turn around and sends me rolling in the dirt a few feet away. I have barely the time to regain my breathing to try to stand up as I see the axe coming at me and, as i'm left with litlle choice but to dive away from the blows, I am slowly driven away into a corner.

I know I said that swords have the advantage over axes but to those who said that before me, I'll tell them 'Have you ever tried to block an axe swung by a man made of muscles with a sword? Because this is damn hard!' Long story short, I know my arms will kill me when did is over... If I survive, that is.

Cursing under my breath as I feel my back hitting the wall, I raise my blade once more to meet the axe of the grinning bandit and prepare for a all-or-nothing strike, as I know I won't have the time to call Lyn or Kent to help me. As my foe bring down his weapon one more time, I move mine up in a try to deflect his blow before landing mine... when the axe suddenly change dirrection.

A feint. The bastard feinted me!

The only things I can do is twist my body around in an attempt to pary the blow but even though I manage to keep the blade from cutting me in two, the sheer force of the blow is enough to send me fly against the wall.

I'm quite sure I just heard the crack of my left side's ribbs just now...

I cough up some blood as I try to stand up -but fail-, seeing the man coming closer to me. I look around to see if there is anything that might be of help but all there is are peebles that would do little to nothing to that man. I can still hear the sounds of battle and I know my chances of getting help quickly enough are close to zero.

"Damn..." I curse weakly. "Is this... where I meet my end?" I finish with a chuckle.

"_**No. Today is not the day you will die, young one."**_

My eyes widden slightly.

Who... or what... was that? It seemed a bit like those voices I've heard before but... different...

"_**Do not worry. I am not your ennemy. I am bound by a debt to someone who wishes for you to live. Now, close your eyes."**_

Oh? And why the hell should I do that when there is a guy with freaking axe coming at me to end my life?!

"_**Because I told you! You fool!"**_

Whatever. I'm tired anyway.

I close my eyes, letting my other senses take over for me. I can hear the bandit's steps as he draws near, I can hear someone shouting in the background. I feel the pain in my left side, my ragged breath, the wall against my back and the ground beneath me. I taste the blood in my mouth as I much as I smell it. It's the same for the dirt. My breath become calmer and I can feel my heartbeet slowing down.

"_**Now, open your eyes and stand up."**_

I open my eyes and get up, slowly. It's weird. It's like I'm in a sort of trance. Now, I realize that I see and hear nothing beside my ennemy. There is only him and I. Nothing more, nothing less.

"_**Good. Now, repeat the words I will speak to you."**_

I take a deep breath.

"_**Ever-burning Fire of Purification,"**_

"Ever-burning Fire of Purification..."

"_**Lord of Destruction and Sign of Rebirth," **_

"Lord of Destruction and Sign of Rebirth..."

"_**Spring Forth from My Hand"**_

"Spring Forth from My Hand..."

"_**and Throttle my Enemy! Ignis!"**_

"and Throttle my Ennemy! Ign-"

*Splash*****

I am cutted short as the man coughs up blood in my face. I blink once, twice, as I still cannot comprehend what's happening. Then, looking down, I see what is the cause of my confusion.

The tip of a sword coming from the man's chest at the location of his heart.

How did that get here?

I look at my sword, still my hand, with no tip missing.

"_**Aaaaw... Hell. It seems like you didn't my help in the end. I guess that means my debt isn't cleared... Oh well... I'll be going now. See you."**_

Wow wait, what? Hold on a sec? Who the hell are you?

The silence in my head tells me i'm not gonna get an answer. But maybe I imagined this. After all, it feels like I'm dreaming. I step aside as I see the axeman falling face firt into the dirt and my gaze looks up from his corpse to the person standing behind it.

Lyn.

She's standing there, her bloodied sword still held up in the air with an exhausted and frantic look on her face, breathing heavely. Looking around, I see that the battle is over and the others are standing a few feet behind Lyn, watching us with concern.

"Lyn..."

That's all I can say before she drops her sword to punch me in the face.

Not beeing prepared for that, I fall to ground once more, groaning at the pain in the left side of my face. As her shadow falls on me, I look up to see her face as it becomes a mask of fury.

"You bloody idiot!" she yells. "What do you think you were doing?! Charging blindly like that at six armed men?!"

To say i'm surprised by her outburst would be an understatement but I quickly regain my composure as I look into her eyes.

"Lyn, listen." I try to calm her.

"No! You listen!" she cuts me. "That was something stupid, Robin! No warrior or tactician in their good mind would put on something that crazy!"

"Lyn, I-"

"Don't try! What you did was rash, suicidal even! How could you think of doing something like that?! 'I'll cover you'?! How could you even think of trying to protect me if you can't even protect yourself?!"

"Lyn-" I try to speak again as I stand up.

"I don't want to hear your excuses! You're the tactician! You're supposed to command us from the sidelines! Not fight at the front! How can you hope hone to become better if you die, huh?!"

That's it. That was too much.

*****Slap!*

I let my left hand fly and as it connects with her right cheek, I can hear the gasps of everyone else. I watch as her face turns from anger to shock as she stares at me with wide eyes.

"Rule number one: don't loose your cool on the battlefield." I say coldly as I let my hand fall to my side. "Now, let me give you a little bit of advice: before you start to put someone's decisions in question, put yourself in that person's place and ask yourself 'what would have I done in his stead?'"

I watch as I see my words slowly making their way into her head. I start walking.

"One last thing: don't EVER think I don't know what i'm doing. There is a reason behind everything we do. Try to think about WHY did I decide to do what I did." I say as I walk past her toward Kent.

"What's the situation?" I ask him and it seems to pull him off his stupor.

"They are only three to five of them left, including their leader." the red knight answers me.

"What about us? Anyone seriously injured?"

He shakes his head. "Only slight injuries that were quickly treated. The few arrows that hitted us were stopped by our armour or created wounds that would hinder us little."

I nod before looking at the others. Sain doesn't seem to want to look at me in the eyes, Wil is looking at me with raised eyebrows and Florina begins to cover in fear the moment I look at her.

I sigh deeply.

This could have gone better.

"Then let's finish this. We wouldn't want them to escape and come back with their friends for revenge or to harm the villagers, don't we?" I say but this time, there is no chear, no war cry. Just simple nods.

I only glance back at Lyn once before making my way slowly to the north part of the town. I can see hurt in her eyes, even though she hungs her head down to hide them. But as harsh as my words were, they countained the truth. And if she can't understand that, then there's nothing I can do.

After a few minutes of walking, we finally come down upon the bandits as they prepare for a last stand. I count three of them plus one corpse with what appears to be wounds inflicted by an axe. I guess he tried to run away and his leader killed him for that. Wich leaves two axemen, leader included, and one swordsman.

"Draw your weapons!" I recognize the first bandit I saw earlier -obviously the leader- as he yells "We're not listening to any of their stinking appologies!"

And with a collective war cry, three men charge at us with their weapons raised.

I raise my hand.

"Wil, Florina, the swordsman is yours. Sain, Kent, you take on the other axeman." I say to them before turning to Lyn. "As for their leader, he's all yours."

She looks at me with a quizical look and I tilt my head to the side, as if I was confused.

"Didn't you want me to fight from the sidelines?" I ask her with a sarcastic tone. "Or is it that you have lost your will to fight?"

"Of course not!" she sharply replies with an angry tone and I smirk a bit.

Now THAT'S the Lyn I know: quick to get back on her feet.

"Then show him what the wielder of the Mani Katti, my peerless warrior, can do." I tell her as I step back.

She smiles at me and draws the sacred blade out of it's sheath. "With pleasure, Ô my master tactician." she replies as she steps forward.

"I might be quick to forgive people, but you and I will have a little conversation later on." I whisper with a serious tone as she walks past me and I can feel her tensing up a bit. "But... right now, you must focus on the ennemy in front of you. You know the rules: don't loose your cool and... don't die."

She nods back before she walks toward the bandit.

"Hey, listen!" she shouts to him. "There's something I want to ask you."

"Huh? Begging for your life so soon, wench?" The man replies with a cocky smile.

"Are you... Taliver bandits?" Lyn asks, ignoring his precedent comment.

"Taliver?" The bandit raised a surprised eyebrow. "Those greedy monsters? We're nothin' like them! Those fiends would even kill women and children!" he shouts and, for a moment, I wonder if this man became a bandit because he didn't have anything else, if things could have been different.

"We're from Ganelon and we know a little something of honor. We don't harm women, for one thing." he continues.

Well, 'don't judge a book by it's cover', they say.

"Heh heh heh." he chuckles darkly and my eyes narrow. "After all... why kill what you can sell?"

Okay, I take my last statements back. A bandit will always be a bandit and a real bastard at heart.

"If you're not Taliver, then there's no reason for you to die her today." Lyn states calmly. "If you would like to tuck your tail and flee, do so now."

Ouch. That must have stung.

"You... You..." I see the man boiling in anger trying to reply. "No more courtesies! You're going to watch your tongue!" he yells as jump at her with his axe raised.

A foolish move.

It was over in an instant. As the axe came down on Lyn, she simply sidesteped it before cutting the arm that holded the weapon. The bandit didn't even have the time to yell because of the pain as her next blow made her sword go right through his throat.

As she frees the blade, a spray of blood comes out from the wound and the agonizing bandit fall to the ground.

"Ugh..." he lets out, coughing up blood. "You'll live... to regret this... My brothers... The Ganelon bandits... will not let... this... stand..." His voice becomes a whisper as he says his final words, but I hear him clearly.

Seems like we're going to have more trouble on our hands.

"That's finally taken care of." Lyn states as she cleans the blood on her blade.

"Lyn!"

Once again, I only see a pink blur dashing past me as Florina runs up to hug her friend. After a few seconds, Lyn gently pushes her back.

"Florina... Why did you follow me?" she asks the pegasus knight. "It's so dangerous."

The pink-haired girl looked down for an instant before her eyes locked into Lyn's.

"Do you remember the knighting ceremony of the Pegasus Knights of Ilia?" she asked.

"Yes." Lyn answers. "You joined a band of freelance soldiers in the hopes to further your training." she seems to think for a second. "Is that what brought you here, Florina?"

"Uh-uh." the pink-haired nods back. "I wanted to talk to you before I set out." she explains. "But when I went to Sacae, I heard that you had left with some strangers, and..."

"You were worried for me?" Lyn finishes her sentence.

Geez... Thank you for putting your faith into Lyn for choosing whom to travel with, Florina. You aren't worried about you going with a band of soldiers composed of complete strangers but you're worried about Lyn travelling with a handful of people?

"Thank you" Lyn continues. "But I'm more worried about you."

"Me?" the pegasus knight replies with a confused look.

"Listen, band of mercenaries are men, right? Bands of men?" Lyn clarifies. "I can't imagine you beeing confortable around them."

"I know, I know." the pink-haired replies. "It's just... I've always dreamt of being a pegasus knight. I imagined I would just... work it out. Somehow." she looks down. "But after today, I'm not so sure. Maybe I should just... Give up..."

"Florina... Don't cry..." Lyn tries to soothe her friend.

"Yes! There's no reason to give up your dream!" An -annoyingly- familiar voice replies with fervor.

"Hm?" I see Lyn turning in my dirrection with a quizical look.

Aaaaand here comes the sidekick...

I roll my eyes as I watch Sain almost running up to them with what, I believe, he calls the 'Fire of Love and Passion' into his eyes.

"Lovely Florina! I have the most briliant of ideas!" he exclaims.

Right. Humor me.

"Sain!"

I watch silently as Kent jog up to his companion with the firm intent to make him shut his mouth.

A bit too late for that, though.

"You should come with us!" Sain continues, ignoring the red knight. "With the addition of Wil here, we're a fine group of soldiers, and freelance to boot!"

Okay. I must admit that was smart, coming from you.

"Wait, did you just include me?" I hear the archer ask with disbelief in his tone.

Give it up, Wil. You can't escape now.

"Of course!" the green knight goes on. "We were destined to meet here! It's fate!"

For some reason, the moment he prounonced this word, my head started to ache and I felt angry. I guess i'm not really found of 'fate' and 'destiny'. Call it what you want: luck, hasard, coincidence or whatever, but not 'fate'. I believe it is our own decisions that forge our future and nothing else.

"Come now, Lyndis's band of mercenaries is as good a training group as you will find anywhere!"

Wow, what?! Since when did we become a band of mercenaries?!

"Sain..." I see Kent's anger builting up before he bursts out. "This is no joking matter!"

And as the two begin to have a rather one-sided argument, I shake my head in disbelief before turning my attention back to the two ladies.

Florina looks utterly confused while Lyn has an annoyed look on her face.

"Lyndis? Um, Lyn? Mercenaries?" the pegasus knight stutters.

"I can give you the details later. This is all a bit rushed." Lyn replies, waving her hand.

That's the understatement of the year, considering what happened this past two weeks.

"However, Sain is right." she continues as she looks at her friend. "Will you come with us, Florina?"

At those words, I see the face of the pink-haired gril light up.

"Travel with you, Lyn? Truly?" she says, obviously delighted. "I would be so... so happy!"

"I agree." I say as I come near them. "Just because of a first bad impression doesn't mean you should give up. I'm sure you have a lot of potential inside of you, you just need to let it come out. Besides, I'm sure your pegasus would be quite sad if you gave up." I tell her with a smile.

"Sir Robin... Thank you!" she replies with a smile of gratitude.

And a split second later, I hear a loud voice shouting right beside my hears. "FANTASTIC!"

Gods, when did he get so close?

Putting a hand to my right hear in pain, I watch as Sain, who escaped Gods-know-how the conversation he had with Kent, running -trully this time- to Florina.

"Beauteous Florina! I am a knight of Caelin. My name is Sain." The fool states proudly.

"Eeek!" Florina lets out in fear as she sees the green knight almost invading her personnal space. "Stay back! Don't get so close." she says as she backs away behind her mount.

"Ah... Beautiful and yet so modest!" Sain says, lost in his own world, and I scratch the back of my head my a sigh before turning back to Lyn, who is discussing with Kent.

"I beg your forgiveness." the red knights says. "Calling us mercenaries..."

Lyn shakes her head. "No. I approve. We can't let Florina on her own." she replies with a smile. "She require special attention, though. Can I count on you?" she asks him.

"Yes! You have but to ask." the ever-helpul knight answers back.

I think she'll need extra protection from Sain, most of all.

"So..."

I turn around to see Wil standing near us with a strange look on his face.

Oh, right. Totally forgot about you.

"Is it really all right if I travel with you?" the archer asks, a bit nervous.

"Oh, yes. Of course!" Lyn replies with enthusiasm. "If you're willing, Wil." she adds.

"Actually, I'm very grateful." he says and I frown a bit at that.

Why would he be grateful?

"Truth to be told, all my money was stolen and I'm... a bit at crossroads." he tells.

Ah. Now that makes more sense.

"I would be honored to count myself one of Lyndis's Legion!" he states as he bows to Lyn.

"'Lyndis's Legion'?" We reply at the same time before looking at each other.

"This is getting stranger everyday, Robin." she mutters with a smile and I can't help but nod in agreement.

"But probably more to me than you..." I whisper under my breath as I recall what happened when I got cornered earlier.

I shake my head.

Now is not the time to think about that. I think we had enough trouble for one day.

-Scene change-

-? POV-

I let out a heavy sigh as I let myself fall in a chair.

That was close. Too bloody damn close. Not only did he almost died, but I also almsot did something I shouldn't have, even if there were no immediate consequences. I'm sure I'll get a pretty long lecture from Athos when he'll come back.

"Gods damn it, Robin... Give me a break, will you?" I mutter quietly.

As if it weren't hard enough to have to look after him through a crystal ball, I have to keep watch about everything else. So if he could not get into too much close-to-death situations, that would be great.

And, for everything that's good in the Outrealms, WHY did it have to be me this time? I'm pretty sure this guy -whatever his name was- could have handled it better. But, hey, I guess Naga has her reasons for calling us to this realm. I wonder when will it be the time for people from HIS realm to come? Heh, that sure would be interesting.

I look at the crystal ball once more, watching the tactician and his companions bidding farewell to the villagers as they leave toward the west. They still have many trials to face but, hopefully, they will get through.

"Don't dare you die, Robin. You still owe me a game of chess. And I promised you I would hold you onto that promise."

After all, if I was to back down on something, whatever it is, my name wouldn't be Katarina.

**Gah! That was extra-long! It's still only chapter four but it seems the more I write, the longer the chapters get!**

**Well, you thoughts? Like? Don't like? Love? Hate?**

**Review! I accept all opinions and advices!**

**Again, sorry for the late update.**

**This is MidnightFenrir, author of "Child of the Fell and Divine dragons", signing out.**


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